
Qass. 
Book_ 



( 

A 



HISTORY 



REPUBLIC OF ROME, 

WITH A 

12- 

BRIEF ACCOUNT OF ITS PROVINCES, / 1 

AND OF THE 

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY 



ROMANS: 

ALSO, 

A CHRONOLOGICAL APPENDIX. 

COMPILED EXPRESSLY FOR. 

THE USE OF THE YOUTH OF AMERICA. 

BY 

W. J. BAKEWELL 



PITTSBURGH: 

C. II. KAY & CO. 
PHILADELPHIA: KAY & BROTHERS. 



1842. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1842, 

By W. J. Bakewell, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and 

for the Western District of Pennsylvania. 



Printed by E G. Berford, Pittsburgh. 



CONTENTS. 



Page, 

PilEFACE, . 7 

CHAPTER I. 
Introduction. — On the Uses and Advantages of History, 13 

CHAPTER II. 
The Religion of the Romans. 

Section I. — The Dii Majorum Gentium, 19 

Section II. — The Dii Minorum Gentium,. 24 

Section III. — The Ministers of Religion, 25 

The Places and Rites of the Roman Religion, 29 

CHAPTER III. 

Section I. — Roman Games, ....... 32 

Section II. — Shows of Gladiators, 34 

Section III. — Dramatic Entertainments,. 36 

Section IV. — Customs of the Romans, 37 

Section V. — Roman Method of Writing........ 41 

Section VI. — Buildings of the Romans, 42 

CHAPTER IV. 

Section I. — The Senate, 45 

Section II. — The Equites or Knights, 47 

Section III. — The Plebeian or Popular Order, 48 

Section IV. — Names of the Romans, 49 

Section V. — Slaves, 50 

CHAPTER V. 
Rights of Roman Citizens, 4 . 51 

CHAPTER VI. 

The Comitia Centur iata, and the Census, 53 

CHAPTER VII. 

Section I. — Magistrates, 55 

Section II. — Tribunes of the People, 58 

Section III. — iEdiles — Quaestors — Extraordinary Magistrates — De- 
cemvirs — Provincial Magistrates, 63 



IV CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Piiny's Account of his Villa in Tuscany,. , . . . . , 66 

CHAPTER IX. 
Abstract of the History of the Kings of Rome, 71 

HISTORY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC* 

CHAPTER X. 

Brutus — Coriolanus-— Cincinnatus— Camillus, 75 

CHAPTER XL 

Pyrrhus and Fabricius, . 81 

CHAPTER XII. 

First Punic War, t 84 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Marcellus and the Siege of Syracuse, 100 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Scipio Africanus, 110 

CHAPTER XV. 
T. Q. Flaminius — Lucius Mummius and Cato the Censor — Mace- 
don — Corinth and Carthage, 120 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Tiberius and Caius Gracchus, 1 52 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Asia Minor, 177 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

War with Jugurtha, King of Numidia, 187 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Caius Marius, 195 

CHAPTER XX. 

Sylla— Marius— Italian War— War with Mithridates,. 206 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Sertorius, c ..222 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Spartacus — Catiline, 230 

CHAPTER XXI I L 

Pompey — Crassus, 243 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Cicero — Cato — Caesar, 252 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Triumvirate of Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus, 266 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Gaul and Britain, 278 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
The Civil Wars,.., 290 



CONTENTS. V 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Civil War from the Death of Caesar to the Battle of Actium — 

Brutus— Cassius — Antony— Lepidus — Octavius, 318 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

Palestine, 330 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Egypt, 347 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
History of Philosophy — Political Philosophy— The Ionic Sect — 
The Socratic School — The Cyrenaic Sect — the Megaricor Eristic 
Sect— The Elaic School— Academic Sect— The Old, the Middle, 
and the New Academy — Aristotle and the Peripatetic Sect — The 
Eleatic Sect — The Heraclitean Sect — the Epicurean Sect — The 
Pyrrhonic or Sceptical Sect — The Philosophy of the Romans,.. . 355 
CHAPTER XXXII. 

Roman Literature, ........ 401 

APPENDIX. 
Chronology, • 405 



ERRATA. 

Read p. 14 1. 21, nor for or; p. 20, 1. 10, was kept for kept; p. 
20 1. 22, husbandry for husbandy; p. 24, 1. 27, dog Cerberus for dog 
of Cerberus ; p. 32, 1. 26, emperors for succeeding emperors; p. 43, 1. 
37, Pantheon for Pantehon ; p. 45, 1. 13, dele, as is afterwards stated; 
p. 54, 1. 11, villany for villainy; p. 57, 1. 38, Sextius for Sexitus ; p. 
61, 1. 40, Canngs for Cumss ; p. 62, 1. 4, transporting for transplanting; 
p. 66, 1. 20, tonsile for donsile ; p. 97, 1. 9, of a more for more; p. 101, 
1. 26, giant for giants; p. 104, 1. 43, were an omen for was an omert; 
p. 115, 1. 12, Italy for that country: p. 139, 1. 16, study for sudy; p. 
186, 1. 9, Galatia for Gallatia; p. 192, I. 36, villany for villainy: p. 214, 
1. 11, Catiline for Cataline; p. 214, 1. 32, Mariuses for Marius's , p. 
250, 1. 21, his respective for their; p. 287, L 22, formation for formalien; 
p. 291, I. 14, success/or succes; p. 296, 1. 5, the upper for upper; p. 
303, 1. 28, discomfited for discomfiited; p. 311, 1. 19, exhibit for exbibits; 
p. 324, 1. 21, Caesar's for Chars'; p. 357, 1. 27, beneficent/or benificent; 
p. 364, 1. 27, were exhibited for was exhibited; p. 368, 1. 34, eminent 
writer for celebrated. 



PREFACE. 



Governor Porter, in his last Message, with an enlightened 
and patriotic regard for the welfare of his country, insists on 
the great importance of education ,• and, at the same ti|§e, 
laments the want of books adapted to the developement of' the 
minds of the Youth of this great Commonwealth. Of the 
momentous consequence of education to the general well 
being of the community, there can be but one opinion. The 
intellectual and moral powers of man are the characteristics 
of his nature; and on the due cultivation of these faculties, 
depend his real respectability, usefulness, and happiness. In 
a Republic, in which the people bear sovereign sway, and all 
the institutions, laws, and measures of government are sub- 
ject to their will and pleasure, it is of immense importance 
that their minds be awakened, that their intellectual powers 
be early and vigorously exercised, and that, through the 
medium of a judicious system of instruction, they be enabled 
to understand and appreciate the comprehensive principles of 
liberty, and be fitted to discharge, with credit to themselves, 
and advantage to the Commonwealth, the highly responsible 
duties of an American citizen. And knowledge is power. 

In a Republic, it is the imperative duty of the State to 
bestow a provident and vigilant attention on the education of 
all those, who, on attaining the period of manhood, acquire 
the right to elect their representaiives and governors. This 
is one of the first and most important duties of the Legislature. 
It is a common cause in which ail are interested, and in which, 



Vlli PREFACE. 

to a certain extent, all should be engaged. And, that the 
great end may be secured, it is not only necessary that 
competent masters be appointed, but, also, that suitable books 
be provided. 

In the present advanced state of society, something more 
is required than the mere mechanical instruction, formerly 
deemed sufficient for the Public Schools, of teaching to read 
and write, and perform the first rules of arithmetic. In 
a Republic, more especially, the capacious powers of the 
minds of the whole community should be awakened, and 
subjects of study be submitted, which impart habits of intel- 
lectual activity, which excite a thirst for knowledge, and 
mould the heart into the form of virtue. 

Whether the present Book is, in any respect, adapted to 
accomplish these important objects of education, must be left 
to the judgment of the impartial reader. Though very hastily 
got up, I hope that it has some claim on the public attention. 
I can sincerely declare that it is not written with a mercenary 
view, and I am persuaded, that it does not inculcate any 
principles at variance with the Constitution of these States. 
Whilst engaged in a work for my own Pupils, in which I had 
made some progress, and entitled Historical Reader, my mind 
was forcibly impressed with that part of the Governor's 
Message which relates to public schools, and I hoped, by 
altering my plan, I might prepare a book, which would be 
more extensively useful. I ventured to entertain the thought, 
that I might possibly do something towards supplying the 
want of which the Governor complains; and, though very 
much occupied by my professional duties, I determined to tej 
aside what I had written, and to devote my few leisure hours 
to the compilation of a work for the Youth of America. 
And, with the most ardent wishes for the welfare of the rising 
generation, I humbly dedicate it to their u^e. Deeply con- 
vinced, that there are, indeed, many in the United States 
much more competent to the task, I yet thought, I would 
venture to cast in my mite, with the single desire of rendering 



PREFACE. iX 

some service, however insignificant, to the land of my adoption, 
as a small, but very inadequate return to the Country, which 
generously welcomes to her spacious territory foreigners from 
every clime, and bestows upon them the inestimable blessings 
of her Institutions, and her rich and exhaustiess field of enter- 
prise. 

The proper study of mankind is man. The history of our 
race is the most important and interesting subject that can 
engage the attention of youth. The materia 1 are rich and 
various, yet many of the Histories, compiled for the use of 
Schools, very briefly notice, or altogether omit, the most inter- 
esting and instructive subjects. We have a particular account 
of the marshalling and relative numbers of contending armies: 
page after page is filled with a detail of the horrible carnage, 
which the wicked ambition of princes and generals has made; 
and the mind is led to dwell on the field of battle deluged with 
human blood. Of what possible advantage the particular 
recital of these transactions can be, I cannot imagine. I am 
persuaded, that the effect on the mind is decidedly pernicious. 
I have, therefore, in the following history, passed over, as 
hastily as possible, all the military affairs, which take up so 
large a portion of historical narratives ; and by this means, and 
by omitting many dry particulars, which have no bearing on the 
present condition of man — which burden the memory without 
making any return, without enlightening the understanding or 
improving the heart — I have been enabled to introduce and 
dwell upon transactions and characters of a universally inter- 
esting nature — that have an intimate relation to our political, 
S'c!~\ .iid individual well-being. I have carefully avoided 

particuUfs a, ,i appeared to me of an unedifying description. 
My great object has been to illustrate the religion, laws, the 
character, manners, and customs of the Romans, and, in the 
latter portion of the history, to point out the causes of the 
decline and fall of the spirit of Liberty. 

Feeling a deep interest in the welfare of the Republic of 
America, and ardently desiring the perpetuity of its Institutions, 



X PREFACE. 

I have been anxious to exhibit the pernicious effects of party — 
"the madness of many for the gain of a few" — and of that 
licentious spirit, which, under the abused name of liberty, dares 
to trample on the sacred majesty of the law, — to delineate the 
impious iniquity of artful and abandoned men, who, behind the 
mask of liberty, are plotting to undermine its sacred edifice, 
and elevate themselves upon its ruins — of men enfeoffed to 
popularity, who endanger the Institutions of their country by 
basely flattering popular passions and prejudices. 

The enemies of America assert that its citizens are vain, are 
fond of flattery, that they cannot patiently bear to hear the 
truth spoken in sincerity, that they are easily deluded by 
ambitious demagogues— that the Americans are not men, but 
children in understanding. " If it be so, it is a grievous 
fault, and grievously will America answer it." But it cannot 
be, that a nation pre-eminently distinguished by the rich pro- 
fusion of Nature's gifts — that a nation glorious in arms, in 
arts, in enterprise, and blessed, far beyond any other country 
in the world in its civil institutions — the only country on the 
earth where all the inalienable rights of man, civil and reli- 
gious, are fully acknowledged and firmly maintained — it 
cannot be that a people, so highly favored by Providence, can 
be so weak, so little, so credulous, as to become the dupes of 
flattery, and the tools of artful and aspiring knaves. There is 
an honorable pride — a degree of self- respect, and reverence in 
which the freeman may justifiably indulge, and, certainly, no 
people on the face of the earth stand in so little need of false 
praise, no people have so much right to lift up their heads with 
conscious independence, and show themselves men. 

The enemies of America assert, that whilst its citizens boast 
of their freedom, they are the slaves of popular opinion, that 
they timidly crouch before each other, and are actually afraid 
to give free utterance to the convictions of their own minds. 
A more serious charge cannot be made. Were it tiue, they 
would be the meanest of mankind. We can, and ought to 
compassionate, and have a fellow feeling for, a poor grovelling 



TREFACE. XI 

reptile, the slave of eastern despotism, who falls down in 
prostrate homage before a man made in all respects like 
himself, dressed up in brief authority; but we could view only 
with emotions of unmixed contempt, the miserable creature, 
who, though living in the happy land of liberty, in the country 
of the great and glorious Washington, should, from the servile 
fear of man, shrink from the avowal of his opinions, and 
slavishly conceal within his own breast the sentiments which 
long for utterance- — sentiments which rise spontaneously to the 
lips, but which the calculating dictates of a sordid prudence 
drive back to the inmost recesses of the soul. 

This Book, as the Title Page indicates, has no pretensions 
to the character of an original work. I wish it to be consid- 
ered as a compilation, [n many parts throughout the volume, 
there are passages for which I am strictly responsible. I 
have often transcribed the very words of the authors whom I 
have consulted ; sometimes I have changed many of their 
expressions, and not unfrequently clothed the facts which I 
have recorded in my own language. Except, in a few 
instances, I have not thought it necessary to use inverted 
commas; for, throughout the work, I have, without scruple, 
and without any intention to act the plagiarist, availed myself 
of the sentiments, or words of any author that would answer 
my purpose. There are several parts of the work that are 
almost entirely compiled. — The introductory chapter, on the 
Uses and Advantages of History, is from Lord Bolingbroke's 
Letters ; the Mythology is compiled from Adam's Roman 
Antiquities, and the greater part relating to the Institutions, 
customs, &c, of the Romans ; the chapter ou Palestine is 
chiefly compiled from Milman's History of the Jews, and that 
on Philosophy, with the exception of a few passages, from 
Brucker's Philosophy, by Enfield. In page 125, the char- 
acter of Washington is by Mr. Mason. 

The chapter on Philosophy may be deemed too long, and 
out of all proportion to the rest of the work; but, I could not 
reduce it to a smaller compass, consistently with the design of 



Xii PREFACE. 

the Book, and without divesting it of all interest. A history 
of the opinions of the most celebrated men of antiquity, is a 
history of human nature, properly so called. A knowledge 
of the minds of the sages of Greece and Rome, is absolutely 
necessary to form any thing like a correct opinion of the 
rational world at the period I have described. Though the 
philosophy had its most celebrated schools in Greece, it became 
the philosophy of Rome, as much as if it had originated in 
Italy. The names of the eminent Greek and Roman Philo- 
sophers are constantly occurring in various books, and it 
appeared to me desirable^ to introduce their characters to the 
knowledge of those who may not have other means of obtain- 
ing information on the subject. 

The Title, Historical Reader, which heads the pages, would 
be more appropriate to the work which I had intended to pub- 
lish, than to the present history. After a few pages were 
struck off, a friend showed me a book with the same title, 
formed, however, on a very different plan. When I com- 
menced the work, I intended to divide the volume into two 
parts, which will account for the heading, Part First, page 13. 
Should the present publication be deemed useful, it is my 
intention to prepare a Second Part, which will embrace not 
only the history of the Roman world under the Emperors, 
but the principal transactions of European History up to the 
period of the Reformation. 

The history of the Republic commences at page 75, but, 
through an oversight, the names of the leading characters of 
the chapter, Brutus, Coriolanus, Cincinnatus, and Camillus, 
were omitted, and the Title, " History of the Roman Republic," 
which should be placed at the top of the page, was substituted. 

W. J. BAKEWELL. 

Penn St., Pittsburgh, April 8th, 1842. 



HISTORICAL READER. 



PART FIRST 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

ON THE USES AND ADVANTAGES OF HISTORY. 

The love of history seems inseparable from human nature, 
because it seems inseparable from self-love. The same 
principle in this instance carries us forward and backward, to 
future and to past ages. We imagine that the things which 
affect us must affect posterity; this sentiment runs through 
mankind, from Ccesar dow r n to the parish clerk in Pope's 
Miscellany. We are fond of preserving, as far as it is in our 
frail power, the memory of our own adventures, of those of 
our own time, and of those that preceded it. Rude heaps of 
stones have been raised, and ruder hymns have been composed, 
for this purpose, by nations who have not yet the use of arts and 
letters. To go no further back, the triumphs of Odin were 
celebrated in Runic songs, and the feats of our British ances- 
tors were recorded in those of their bards. The savages of 
America have the same custom at this day; and long historical 
ballads of their huntings and their wars are sung at all festi- 
vals. There is no need of saying how this passion grows 
among civilized nations, in proporrion to the means of grati- 
fying it: but let us observe that the same principle of nature 
directs us as strongly, and more generally, as well as more 
early, to indulge our own curiosity, instead of preparing to 
gratify that of others. The child hearkens with delight to 
the tales of his nurse, he learns to read, and he devours with 
eagerness fabulous legends and novels. In riper years he 

2 



14 HISTORICAL READER. 

applies himself to history, or to that which he takes for history, 
to authorized romance; and even in age, the desire of knowing 
what has happened to other men, yields to the desire alone of 
relating what has happened to ourselves. Thus history, true 
or false, speaks to our passions always. What pity is it, that 
even the best should speak to bur understandings so seldom. 
That it does so, we have none to blame but ourselves. Nature 
has done her part. She has opened this study to every man 
who can read and think; and what she has made the most 
agreeable, reason can make the most useful, application of 
our minds. But iC we consult our reason, we shall be far from 
following the examples of our fellow-creatures, in this as in 
most other cases, who are so proud of being rational. If we 
read to soothe our indolence, or to gratify our vanity, we 
mistake the true drift of study, and the true use of history. 
Nature gave us curiosity to excite the industry of our minds; 
but she never intended it should be made the principal, much 
less the sole, object of their application. The true and proper 
object of this application is a constant improvement in private 
and in public virtue. An application to any study, that tends 
neither directly or indirectly to make us better men and better 
citizens, is at best but a specious and ingenious sort of idleness, 
to use an expression of Tillotson's : and the knowledge we 
acquire by it is a creditable kind of ignorance, nothing more. 
This creditable kind of ignorance is, in my opinion, the. whole 
benefit which the generality of men, even of the most learned, 
reap from the study of history; and yet the study of history 
seems to me, of all others, the most proper to train us up to 
private and public virtue. 

I think that history is philosophy teaching by examples. 
We need but to cast our eyes on the world, and we shall see 
the daily force of example: we need but to turn them inward, 
and w r e shall soon discover why example has this force. Such 
is the imperfection of human understanding, such the frail 
temper of our minds, that abstract or general propositions, 
though ever so true, appear obscure or doubtful to us very 
often, till they are explained by examples; and that the wisest 
lessons in favor of virtue go but a little way to convince the 
judgment, and determine the will, unless they are enforced by 
the same means, and we are obliged to apply to ourselves 
what we see happen to other men. Instructions by precept 
have the further disadvantage of coming on the authority of 
others, and frequently require a long deduction of reasoning. 
When examples are pointed out to us, there is a kind of appeal, 



HISTORICAL READER. 15 

with which we are flattered, made to our senses, as well as to 
our understandings. The instruction comes, then, upon our 
own authority ; we frame the precept after our own experience, 
and yield to fact when we resist speculation. But this is not 
the only advantage of instruction by example; for example 
appeals not to our understanding alone, but to our passions 
likewise. Example assuages these, or animates them, sets 
passion on the side of judgment, and makes the whole man of 
a piece, which is more than the strongest reasoning and the 
clearest demonstration can do; and thus forming habits by 
repetition, example secures the observance of those precepts 
which example insinuated. Is it not Pliny who says, that the 
gentlest, he should have added the most effectual, way of 
commanding, is by example? The citizens of Rome placed 
the images of their ancestors in the vestibules of their houses; 
so that whenever they w 7 ent in or out, these venerable bustoes 
met their eyes, and recalled the glorious actions of the dead to 
fire the living, to excite them to imitate, and even to emulate, 
their great forefathers. The success answered the design. 
The virtue of one generation was transfused by the magic of 
example into several; and a spirit of heroism was maintained 
through many ages of that Commonwealth* Now, these are 
so many instances of the force of remote example, and from 
all these instances we may conclude that examples of both 
kinds are necessary. 

The school of example is the w r orld, and the masters of this 
school are history and experience. I am far from contending 
that the former is preferable to the latter. I think, upon the 
whole, otherwise; but this I say, that the former is absolutely 
necessary to prepare us for the latter, and to accompany us 
whilst we are under the discipline of the latter, that is, through 
the whole course of our lives. No doubt some few men may 
be quoted, to whom nature gave what art and industry can 
give to no man. But such examples will prove nothing 
against me, because I admit that the study of history, without 
experience, is insufficient, but assert that experience itself is 
so without genius. Genius is preferable to the other two, but 
I would wish to find the three together; for how great soever a 
genius may be, and how much soever he may acquire new- 
light and heat as he proceeds in his rapid course, certain it is 
that he will never shine with the full lustre, nor shed the full 
influence he is capable of, unless to his own experience he adds 
the experience of other men and other ages. Genius, without 
the improvement at least of experience, is what comets once 



16 HISTORICAL READER. 

were thought to be, blazing meteors, irregular in their course, 
and dangerous in their approach; of no use to any system, and 
able to destroy any. Mere sons of earth, if they have experi- 
ence without any knowledge of the history of the world, are 
but half scholars in the science of mankind. And if they are 
conversant in history without experience, they are worse than* 
ignorant; they are pedants, always incapable, sometimes 
meddling and presuming. The man who has all three, is an 
honor to his country, and a public blessing. 

The temper of mind is formed, and a certain turn given to 
our ways of thinking; in a word, the seeds of that moral 
character which cannot wholly alter the natural character, 
but may correct the evil and improve the good that is in it, 
or do the very contrary, or sow betimes much sooner than is 
commonly supposed. It is equally certain, that we shall gather 
or not gather experience, be the better or the worse for this expe- 
rience when we come into the world and mingle amongst man- 
kind, according to the temper of mind, and the turn of thought, 
that we have acquired beforehand, and bring along with us. 
They will tincture all our future acquisitions, so that the very 
same experience which secures the judgment of one man, or 
excites him to virtue, shall lead another into error, or plunge 
him into vice. From hence it follows that the study of history 
has, in this respect, a double advantage. If experience alone 
can make us perfect in our parts, experience cannot begin to 
teach them till we are'actually on the stage: whereas, by a 
previous application to this study, we conn them, over at least 
before we appear there : we are not quite unprepared, we learn 
our parts sooner, and we learn them better. 

Let me explain what I mean by an example. There is 
scarce any folly or vice more epidemical among the sons of 
men, than the ridiculous and hurtful vanity by which the 
people of each country are apt to prefer themse!ve3 to those 
of every other; and to make their own customs, and manners, 
and opinions, the standards of right and wrong, of true and 
false. The Chinese Mandarins were strangely surprised, and 
almost incredulous, when the Jesuits shewed them how small 
a figure their empire made in the general map of the world, 
The Samojedes wondered much at the Czar of Muscovy for 
not living among them; and the Hottentot, who returned from 
Europe, stripped himself as soon as he came home, and returned 
to his former sordid habits. Now, nothing can contribute more 
to prevent us from being tainted with this vanity, than to 
accustom ourselves early fo contemplate the different nations 



HISTORICAL READER. 17 

of the earth in that vast map which history spreads before 
us, in their rise and their fall, in their barbarous and civilized 
states, in the likeness and unlikeness of them all to one another, 
and of each to itself. By frequently renewing this prospect to 
the mind, the Mexican, with his cap and coat of feathers, 
sacrificing a human victim to his god, will not appear more 
savage to our eyes, than the Spaniard, with a hat on his head, 
and a gonilla round his neck, sacrificing whole nations to his 
ambition, his avarice, and even the wantonness of his cruelty. 
I might shew, by a multitude of other examples, how history 
prepares us for experience, and guides us in it ; and many of 
these would be both curious and important. I might likewise 
bring several other instances, wherein history serves to purge 
the mind of those national partialities and prejudices that we 
are apt to contract in our education, and that experience, for 
the most part, rather confirms than removes; because it is for 
the most part confined, like our education. Though an early 
and proper application to the study of history will contribute 
extremely to keep our minds free from a ridiculous partiality 
in favor of our own country, and a vicious prejudice against 
others; yet the same study will create in us a preference of 
affection to our own country. Education and habit, obligation 
and interest, attach us to it, not instinct, h is, however, so 
necessary to be cultivated, and the prosperity of all societies, 
as well as the grandeur of some, depends upon it so much, that 
orators by their eloquence, and poets by their enthusiasm, have 
endeavored to w T ork up this precept of morality into a principle 
of passion. But the examples which we find in history, 
improved by the lively descriptions, and the just applauses or 
censures of historians, will have a much better and more 
permanent effect than declamation, or song, or the dry ethics 
of mere philosophy. In fine, to converse with historians is to 
keep good company : many of them were excellent men, and 
those who were not such have taken care, however, to appear 
such in their writings. It must be, therefore, of great use to 
prepare ourselves by this conversation for that of the world; 
and to receive our first impressions, and to acquire our first 
habits, in a scene where images of virtue and vice are continu- 
ally represented to us in the colors that belong properly to 
them, before we enter on another scene, where virtue and vice 
are too often confounded, and what belongs to one is ascribed 
to the other. 

Thus again, as to events that stand recorded in history: we 
see them all, we see them as thev followed one another, or as 

2* ' 



18 HISTORICAL READER. 

they produced one another, causes or effects, immediate ot 
remote. We are cast back, as it were, into former ages ; we 
live with the men who lived before us, and we inhabit countries 
that we never saw. Place is enlarged, and time prolonged, in 
this manner; so that the man who applies himself early to the 
study of history, may acquire in a lew years, and before he 
sets his foot abroad in the world, not only a more extended 
knowledge of mankind, but the experience of more centuries- 
than any of the patriarchs saw*. 



CHAPTER II, 



THE RELIGION OF THE ROMANS. 

The Gods whomthe Romans worshipped were very numerous 
and divided into Dii majorum gentium, and minorum gentium. 

SECTION I. 

The Dii Majorum Gentiuh were the great celestial deities, 
and twelve in number : 

1. Jupiter, the king of gods and men, the son of Saturn and 
Rhea, or Ops, the goddess of the earth, born and educated in 
the island of Crete. He was supposed to have dethroned his 
father, and to have divided his kingdom with his brothers. 
He himself obtained the air and the earth, Neptune the sea, 
and Pluto the infernal regions. Jupiter is usually represented 
sitting on an ivory throne, holding a sceptre in his left hand, 
and a thunderbolt in his right, with an eagle, and Hebe, the 
daughter of Juno, and goddess of youth, or the boy Ganyme- 
des, his cup bearer, attending him. 

2. Juno, the wife and sister of Jupiter, queen of the gods r 
and goddess of marriage. She is represented in a long robe 
and magnificent dress, sometimes sitting or standing in a light 
car, drawn by peacocks, attended by the Auras, or air nymphs, 
and by Iris, the goddess of the rainbow. 

3. Minerva, or Pallas,, the goddess of wisdom; said to have 
sprung from the brain of Jupiter by the stroke of Vulcan. 
She is said to be the inventress of spinning and weaving, of 
the olive, and of warlike chariots. She is called Tritonia, 
because she was first seen near the lake Tritonis, in Africa. 
She is represented as an armed Virgin, beautiful, but stern and 
dark colored, with azure or sky colored eyes, having a helmet 
on her head, and a plume nodding formidably in the air, 
holding in her right hand a spear, and in her left a shield 
covered with the skin of the goat Amalthea, by which she 
was nursed, (hence called iEgis,) given her by Jupiter, whose 
shield had the same name. In the middle of it was the head 



20 HISTORICAL READER. 

of the Gorgoa Medusa, a monster with snaky hair, which 
turned every one who looked at it into stone. There was a 
statue of Minerva (Palladium) supposed to have fallen from 
Heaven, which was religiously kept in her temple by the 
Trojans, and stolen thence by Ulysses and Diomedes. 

4. Vesta, the goddess of fire. Two of this name are mention- 
ed by the poets; one the mother, and the other the daughter of 
Saturn, who are often confounded. But the latter chiefly was 
worshipped at Rome. In her sanctuary was supposed to be 
preserved the Palladium of Troy, and a fire kept continually 
burning by a number of virgins, called the Vestal virgins. 

5. Ceres, the goddess of corn and husbandry, the sister of 
Jupiter. She was worshipped chiefly in Eleusis in Greece, 
and in Sicily. Her sacred rites were kept very secret. She 
is represented with her head crowned with ears of corn or 
poppies, and her robes failing down to her feet, holding a 
torch in her hand. She is said to have wandered over the 
whole earth with a torch in her hand, which she lighted at 
Mount iEtna, in quest of her daughter Proserpine, who was 
carried off by Pluto. Plutus, the god of riches; is supposed to 
be the son of Ceres. Ceres is called Legifera, the lawgiver, 
because laws were the effect of husbandy, and Arcana, because 
her sacred rites were celebrated with great secrecy, particularly 
at Eleusis in Attica. By the voice of a herald the wicked were 
excluded. Whoever entered without being initiated, although 
ignorant of the prohibition, was put to death. A sow was 
sacrificed to this goddess, because this animal is hurtful to 
corn fields ; and a fox was burnt to death at her sacred rites, 
with torches tied round it, because a fox, wrapt round with 
stubble and hay, set on fire, once burnt a field of growing corn. 

6. Neptune, the god of the sea, and brother of Jupiter. 
Represented with a trident in his right hand, and a dolphin in 
his left, one of his feet resting on part of a ship ; his aspect 
majestic and serene ; sometimes in a chariot drawn by sea- 
horses, with a triton on each side. Besides Neptune there 
were the sea-gods and goddesses ,* Oceanus, and his wife 
Tethys,* Nereus, and his wife Doris; the Nereides, Thetis, 
Doto, GalatEea,, &c. ; Triton, Proteus, Portumnus, Ino, Pale- 
mon, &c. 

7. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, said to have been 
produced by the foam of the sea, near the Island of Cythera, 
hence called Cytheiea. According to others she was the 
daughter of Jupiter, and the nymph Dione. She was the 
wife of Vulcan, and was worshipped chiefly in the island of 



HISTORICAL READEI?. 21 

Cyprus. The tree most acceptable to this goddess was the 
myrtle. The attendants of Venus were her son Cupid, (or 
rather the Cupids, for there were many of them ; but the two 
most remarkable were Eros, who caused love, and Anteros, 
who made it cease, or produced mutual love.) the three Gra- 
ces, Aglaia, or Pasithea, Thalia, and Euphrosyne, represented 
with their hands joined together, and Nymphs dancing with 
the Graces. 

8. Vulcan, or Mulciber, the god of fire and of smiths, the 
son of Jupiter and Juno, and husband of Venus. Represented 
as a lame blacksmith, hardened from the forge, with a fiery 
red face whilst at work, and tired and heated after it. He is 
said to have had his work-shop chiefly in Lemnos, and in the 
iEolian or Lipari islands near Sicily, or in a cave of Mount 
iEtna. His workmen were the Cyclops, giants with one eye 
in their forehead, who were usually employed in making the 
thunderbolts of Jupiter. 

9. Mars, the god of war, and son of Juno, worshipped by 
the Thracians, GetaB, and Scythians, and especially by the 
Romans, as the father of Rcmulus, their founder, painted with 
a fierce aspect, riding in a chariot, or on horseback, with a 
helmet and a spear. When peaceable, Mars was called Quiri- 
nus. Beilona, the goddess of war, was the wife or sister of 
Mars. A round shield (Ancile,) is said to have fallen from 
heaven in the reign of Numa, supposed to be the shield of Mars, 
which was kept with great care in his sanctuary, as a symbol 
of the perpetuity of the empire, by the priests of Mars, who 
were called Salii ; and that it might not be stolen, eleven others 
were made quite like it. The animals sacred to him are the 
horse, the wolf, and the wood-pecker. 

10. Mercurius, the son of Jupiter and Mala, the daughter of 
Atlas. He was the messenger of the gods, the god of elo- 
quence, the patron of merchants and gain, the inventor of the 
lyre and harp, the protector of poets and men of genius, of 
musicians, wrestlers, the conductor of souls to their proper 
mansions ; also, the god of ingenuity and of thieves. He was 
called Cyilenius, from Cyllene, a mountain in Arcadia, where 
he was born, and Tygasus from Tegea, a city near it. The 
distinguishing attributes of Mercury are his Petasus, or winged 
cap, the Talaria, or winged sandals, and a Cadiiceus, or wand, 
with two serpents about it, in his baud. Sometimes, as the 
god of merchants, he bears a purse. 

11. Apollo, the son of Jupiter and Latona, born in the 
island of Delos. He was the god of poetry, music, medicine! 



22 HISTORICAL READER. 

augury, and archery, and was also called Phoebus and Sol. 
He had oracles in many places: the chief one was at Delphi, 
in Phocis. He had various names given to him from the 
places where he was more particularly worshipped, as Cyn- 
thius, Patareus, &c- Pie was also called Latous, son of 
Latona, and Pythius, from having slain the serpent of Python. 
He is usually represented as a beautiful beardless young man, 
with long hair, holding a bow and arrows in his right hand, 
and in his left a lyre and a harp. He is crowned with laurel, 
which was sacred to him, as were the hawk and raven. The 
son of Apollo was iEsculapius, the god of medicine, worshipped 
formerly at Epidaurus in the form of a serpent, or leaning on 
a staff, round which a serpent was entwined. 

Connected with Apollo and Minerva were the nine Muses, 
said to be the daughters of Jupiter and Mnemosyne, or memory; 
Calliope, the muse of heroic poetry; Clio, of history; Melpo- 
mene, of tragedy; Thalia, of comedy and pastorals; Erato, of 
love songs and hymns ; Euterpe, of playing on the flute ; 
Terpsichore, of the harp and dancing ; Polyhymnia, of singing, 
gesture, and rhetoric; and Urania, of astronomy. The Muses 
frequented the mountains Parnassus, Helicon, Pieru-s, &c; 
the fountains Castalius, Aganippe, or Hippocrene, &c, whence 
they had various names. 

12. Diana, the sister of Apollo, goddess of the woods and 
hunting, called Diana on earth, Luna in heaven, and Hecate 
in hell. She is represented as a tall, beautiful virgin, with a 
quiver on her shoulder, and a javelin or bow in her right 
hand, chasing deer or other animals. She is called Trivia, 
from her statues standing where three roads met. 

These twelve Deities are represented as occupying a differ- 
ent part of heaven from the inferior gods. 

The Dn Selecti were eight in number. 

1. Saturnus, the god of time, the son of Coelus, or Uranus, 
and Terra, or Vesta. Titan, his brother, resigned the kingdom 
to him on condition that he should rear no male offspring, on 
which account he is feigned by the poets to have devoured his 
sons as soon as they were born. But Rhea found means to 
deceive him, and bring up by stealth Jupiter and his two bro- 
thers. Saturn being dethroned by Jupiter, fled into Italy, and 
gave name to Latium, from his lurking there. Under Saturn 
is supposed to have been the golden age, when the earth produ- 
ced food in abundance spontaneously, and all things were in 
common. There was at this period an intercourse between 
the gods and men upon earth, which ceased in the brazen and 



HISTORICAL READER. 23 

iron ages, when even the virgin Astnea, or goddess of justice, 
provoked by the wickedness of men, left it. The only goddess 
then left was Hope. Saturn is painted as a decrepid- old 
man, with a scythe in his hand, or a serpent biting off its 
own tail. 

2. Janus, the god of the year, who presided over the gates 
of heaven, and also over peace and war. He is painted with 
two faces. His temple was open in time of war, and shut in 
time of peace. 

3. Rhea, the wife of Saturn, called also Ops, Cybele, 
Berecynthia, ldiea, and Didymene. She was painted as a 
matron, crowned with towers, sitting in a chariot drawn by 
lions. 

4. Pluto, the brother of Jupiter, and king of the infernal 
regions. Proserpine was his wife, whom he carried off 
as she was gathering flowers on the plains of Enna, in 
Sicily. 

There are many other infernal deities, of whom the chief 
were the Fates, or Destinies; Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, 
supposed to determine the life of men by spinning ; Clotho held 
the distaff, Lachesis spun, and Atropos cut the thread. The 
Furies, also three in number, Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megsera, 
represented with wings, and snakes twisted in their hair, holding 
in their hands a torch and a whip to torment the wicked. Mors, 
the god of death; and Somnus, of sleep. 

Bacchus, the god of wine, the son of Jupiter and Semele. 
He was also called Liber, and described as the conqueror of 
India, represented always young, crowned with vine or ivy 
leaves, sometimes with horns, holding in his hand a thyrsis or 
spear bound with ivy, and in a chariot drawn by tigers, lions, 
lynxes, attended by Silenus, his nuise and preceptor, and 
Bacchanals (frantic women,) and Satyrs. Priapus, the god 
of gardens, was the son of Bacchus and Venus. 

6. Sol, the sun, the same as Apollo, but sometimes distin- 

guished, and then supposed to be the son of Hyperion, one of 
the Titans, or giants, produced by the earth, who is also put 
for the sun. The Persians worshipped the sun under the name 
of Mithras. 

7. Luna, the moon, as one of the Dii Selecti, was the daughter 
of Hyperion, and sister of Sol. Her chariot was drawn by 
two horses. 

8. Genius, the daemon, or tutelary god, who was supposed 
to take care of every one from his birth, during the whole of 
life. Places and cities, as well as men, had their particular 



24 HISTORICAL READER. 

Genii. It was generally believed that every person had two 
Genii, the one good, and the other bad. 

Nearly allied to the Genii were the Llres and Penates, the 
household gods, who presided over families. The Lares ap- 
pear to have been the Manes of their ancestors. Small waxen 
images of them, clothed with the skin of a dog, were placed 
round the hearth in the hall. On festivals they were crowned 
with garlands, and sacrifices were offered to them. The 
Penates were worshipped in the innermost part of the house, 
which was called Penetraha. They were also worshipped in 
the Capitol, under whose protection the city and temples were. 
The Lares and Penates were not, as some suppose, the same. 
The Penates are by the ancients represented as of divine origin, 
and the Lares of human. Certain persons were admitted to 
the worship of the Latter, who were not to the former. 



SECTION II. 

Dii Minority Gentium, or Inferior Deities. 

These were of various kinds. 

1. Dii Indigetes, or heroes, ranked among the gods on 
account of their virtue and merits, of whom the chief were; 

Hercules, the son of Jupiter and Alcmena, wife of Amphit- 
ryon, king of Thebes, famous for his twelve labors and other 
exploits. lie squeezed Two serpents to death in his cradle, 
killed the [ion in the wood of Nemsea, the Hydra of Lake 
Lerna, the boar of Erymanthus, the brazen footed stag on 
Mount Menalus, the hai pies in the lake Stymphalus, Diomede 
and his horses that fed on human flesh, the wild bull in the 
island of Crete, cleansed the stables of Augseus, subdued the 
Amazons and Centaurs, dragged the dog of Cerberus from 
hell, carried off the oxen of the three-bodied Geryon from 
Spain, fixed pillars in the Straits of Gibraltar, (fretum Gadi- 
tanum,) brought away the golden apples of the Plesperides, 
killed the dragon which guarded them, slew the giant Antseus, 
and the monstrous thief Cacus, &c. He was called Alcides, 
Tirymhius, and Octseus. Being consumed by a poisoned 
robe, (sent him by his wife Dejanira in a fit of jealousy,) 
which he could not pull off, he laid himself on a funeral 
pile, and ordered it to be set on fire. He is represented of 
prodigious strength, holding a club in his right hand, and 
clothed in the skin of the Nemsean lion. 



HISTORICAL READER. 25 

Castor and Pollux, sons of Jupiter and Leda, said to have 
been produced from two eggs, from one of which came Pollux 
and Helena, and from the other Castor and Clytemnestra. 
They were the gods of mariners, because their constellation 
was much observed at sea. They are represented riding on 
white horses, with a star over the head of each, and covered 
with a cap. 

2. There were certain gods called Semones (quasi semi- 
homines, minores diis et majores hominibus.) 

Pan, the god of shepherds, the inventor of the flute, said to 
be the son of Mercury and Penelope, worshipped chiefly in 
Arcadia ; represented with horns and goats' feet. 

Faunus and Sylvanus, supposed to be the same as Pan. 
There were several rural deities called Fauni, who were 
believed to occasion nightmare. 

Vertumnus, who presided over the change of seasons and 
merchandise, supposed to transform himself into different 
shapes. 

Pomona, the goddess of gardens and fruits, the wife of 
Vertumnus. Flora, the goddess of flowers. Hymen, the god 
of marriage. Terminus, the god of boundaries. Pales, a god 
or goddess, who presided over flocks and herds. Laverna, 
the goddess of thieves. Vacuna, who presided over vacation, 
or respite from business. Averruncus, the god who averted 
mischiefs. Fascinus, who prevented fascination or enchant- 
ment. Robigus, the god, and Rubigo, the goddess who 
preserved corn from blight. Mephitis, the goddess of mephitic 
odors. Cloacina, the goddess of common sew r ers. 

Under the Semones were comprehended the Nymphs, female 
deities, who presided over all parts of the earth ; Or^ades, over 
mountains; Dryades, Hamadryades, Napa?^, over woods ; 
Naiades, over rivers and fountains ; Nereides, Oceantides, 
over the sea. Each river was supposed to have a particular 
deity, who presided over it. The sources of rivers were 
particularly sacred to some divinity; and cultivated with reli- 
gious ceremonies. Temples were erected, and small pieces 
of money were thrown into them, and no person was allowed 
to swim near the head of the spring. Sacrifices were offered 
to fountains. 

Under the Semones were also included the judges in the 
infernal regions, Minos, Eacus, and Rhadamanthus; Charon, 
the ferryman of hell, who conducted the souls of the dead in a 
boat over the rivers Styx and Acheron ; Cerberus, a three- 
headed monster, who guarded the entrance of hell. 

3 



20 HISTOHICAL KEABEK. 

The Romans also worshipped the virtues and affections of 
the mind ; as Piety, Faith, Fortune, Fame, &c, and even vices 
and diseases ; and (under the emperors) foreign deities, as Isis ? 
Osiris, Amibis of the ^Egyptians ; also the winds and tempests, 
Eurus the east wind, Auster or Notus the south wind, Zephyrus 
the west wind, Boreas the north wind, &c. 

iEolus, the god of the winds, who was supposed to reside 
in the Lipari islands. Auras, air nymphs or sylphs. 

SECTION 111. 

MINISTERS OF RELIGION. 

Ministers of religion among the Romans did not form a 
distinct order of men from the other citizens. They were 
usually chosen from among the most honorable men in the 
state. Some of them were common to all the gods; others 
appropriated to a particular deity. 

Of the former kind were; 

1. The Pontifices, (a posse facere,) who were first instituted 
by Numa. They were chosen from the Patricians, and were 
four in number., but in the year 454 from the building of the 
city, four more were created from the Plebeians. Scylla in- 
creased their number to fifteen. They judged in all causes 
relating to religion; and in cases where the-re was no written 
law, they prescribed .what regulations they thought proper. 
The whole number of Pontifices was called Collegium. From 
the time of Numa the vacant places in the number of Pontifices 
were supplied by the College, but in the year of Rome 650, 
the right was transferred to the people. Antony transferred 
It to the priests; Pansa once more restored the right of election 
to the people. After the battle of Actium, permission was 
granted to Augustus to add to the fraternities of priests as 
many above the usual number as he thought proper; which 
power the succeeding emperors exercised, so that the number 
of priests was thenceforth very uncertain. The chief of the Pon- 
tiffs was called Pontifex Maximus, created by the people, while 
the rest were chosen by the College. The office of Chief 
Pontiff was one of great dignity and power. His presence was 
requisite in public and solemn religious acts. The office was 
for life. Augustus assumed the office, which was ever after 
held by his successors, and the title even retained by Christian 
emperors to the time of Theodosius. 

2, Augur.es, augurs, anciently called Auspices, whose office 



HISTORICAL READER. 27 

it was to foretell future events, chiefly from the flight, chirping, 
or feeding of birds, &c. They were of great authority, and 
nothing of importance was done respecting the public, either at 
home or abroad, without consulting them. Anciently the Ro- 
man youth were instructed as carefully in the art of augury, 
as afterwards they were in Greek literature. Of whatever 
crimes the augurs were guilty, they could not be deprived 
of their office, because, as Plutarch says, they were entrusted 
with the secrets of the -empire. 

An augur made his observations on the heavens usually at 
midnight. In whatever position the augur stood on his elevated 
station, where the view was open on all sides, omens on the left 
were reckoned lucky. Thunder on the left was a good omen ; 
the croaking of a raven on the right, and of a crow on the left, 
was reckoned fortunate. The whole art seems to have been 
continued, and afterwards cultivated chiefly to increase the 
influence of the leading men over the multitude. 

The Romans took omens also from quadrupeds crossing the 
way, or appearing in an unaccustomed place; from sneezing, 
spilling salt on the table, &c, which were called dira signa, 
unlucky omens. . Many curious instances of Roman supersti- 
tion with respect to omens are enumerated. Csesar on landing 
in Africa, happened to fall on his face, which was reckoned a 
bad omen, but he with great presence of mind turned it to the 
contrary; for, taking hold of the ground with his right hand, and 
kissing it, as if he had fallen on purpose, he exclaimed, " I take 
possession of thee, O ! Africa." 

Future events were also prognosticated by drawing lots, and 
also from names ; from opening any book at random, and 
forming conjectures from the meaning of the first line or pas- 
sage which happened to meet the eye ; from the stars, and from 
dreams. 

Haruspices, soothsayers, were persons who examined the 
victims and their entrails after they were sacrificed, and from 
thence derived omens of futurity. 

Quindecemviri, who had the charge of the Sibylline books, 
inspected them by the appointment of the Senate in dangerous 
junctures, and performed the sacrifices which they enjoined* 
These books were supposed to contain the fate of the Roman 
empire. They were burnt with the Capitol in the Marsic war, 
in the year of Rome 670. After this event, ambassadors were 
sent every where to collect the oracles of the Sibyls, (for there 
were other prophetic old women besides the one who came to 
Tarquin,) and from various verses thus collected, the Quinde- 



28 HISTORICAL READER. 

cetnviri made out new books, which Augustus deposited in two 
gilt cases under the base of the statue of Apollo. Each of 
the priests had a brazen tripod, as being sacred to Apollo, 
similar to that on which the priestess at Delphi sat. 

Septemviri were those who prepared the sacred feasts at 
games, processions, and other solemn occasions. It was cus- 
tomary among the Romans to decree feasts to the gods, in order 
to appease their wrath. 

Fratres Ambarvales were twelve in number, who offered up 
sacrifices for the fertility of the soil. They were attended 
with a crowd of country people, having their temples bound 
with garlands of oak leaves, dancing and singing the praises of 
Ceres, to whom libations were made of honey, diluted with 
milk and wine. These sacred rites were performed before they 
began to reap. 

Curiones, the priests who performed the public sacred rites 
in each curise, thirty in number. Feciales, sacred persons 
employed in declaring war and making peace. 

The priests of particular gods were called Fiamines. The 
Flamen of Jupiter was an office of great dignity. 

Salii, the priests of Mars, twelve in number. Luperci, the 
priests of Pan, so called from a wolf, because that god was 
supposed to keep the wolves from the sheep. The place where 
he was worshipped was called the Lupercal, and his festival 
Lupercalia, when the Luperci ran about, almost undressed, 
with thongs of goat leather in their hands, with which they 
struck those whom they met. 

As the Luperci were the most, ancient order of priests, said 
to have been instituted by Evander, so they continued the 
longest, not being abolished till the time of Anastasius. 
A. D. 518. 

Potitii and Pinarii, the priests of Hercules. 

Galli, the priests of Cybele, the mother of the gods. The 
Corybantes used to carry round the image of Cybele, with the 
gestures of persons deranged, rolling their heads, beating their 
breasts, to the sound of the flute, making a great noise with 
cymbals and drums, sometimes cutting their arms and uttering 
dreadful predictions. 

VirginesVestales, Vestal Virgins, consecrated to the worship 
of Vesta. They were instituted by Numa, and were four in 
number, and two were afterwards added. When a vacancy 
occurred a selection was made from among the people from 
twenty girls above six, and under sixteen years of age. The 
selection was at first determined by lot, but afterwards by the 



HISTORICAL READER. 29 

Chief Pontiff. They were bound to their ministry for thirty 
years. The first ten years they learned the sacred rites, for 
the next ten they performed them ; and for the last ten taught 
the younger virgins. Their office was to keep the sacred fire 
always burning; to keep the Palladium; arid to perform the 
sacred rites of the goddess. They enjoyed great honors and 
privileges. If any one violated her vow, she was buried 
alive. 

Respecting the emoluments of the priests, we have no 
certain information. There is no mention of any fixed 
annual salary. 



THE PLACES AND RITES OF THE ROMAN RELIGION. 

The places dedicated to the worship of the gods were called 
Temples; a small temple Sacellum, (chapel.) The worship 
consisted chiefly of prayers, vows, and sacrifices. No act of 
religious worship was performed without prayer. The words 
were thought of the greatest importance, and varied according 
to the nature of the sacrifice. In the day time the gods were 
thought to remain for the most part in heaven, but to go up 
and down during the night to observe the actions of men. 
Those who prayed stood usually with their heads covered, 
looking towards the east. A priest pronounced the words 
before them; they frequently touched the altars or the knees 
of the images of the gods, turned themselves round in a circle 
towards the right; sometimes put their right hand to their mouth, 
and also prostrated themselves on the ground. 

The ancient Romans used with the same solemnity to offer 
up vows. They vowed temples, games, sacrifices, gifts, a 
certain part of the plunder of a city. Sometimes they wrote 
their vows on paper or waxen tablets, sealed them up, and 
fastened them with wax to the knees of the images of the gods, 
the knee being supposed to be the seat of mercy. They who 
implored the aid of the gods, used to lie in their temples to 
receive from them responses in their sleep. The sick in par- 
ticular did so in the temple of iEsculapius. Those saved from 
shipwreck used to hang up their clothes in the temple of 
Neptune, with a picture representing the circumstances of 
their danger and escape. Soldiers when discharged suspended 
their arms to Mars, gladiators their swords to Hercules, and 
poets, when they had finished a work, the fillets of their hair 
to Apollo. 

Augustus, having lost a number of ships in a storm, 

3* 



30 HISTORICAL HEADER. 

expressed his resentment against Neptune, by ordering that 
his image should not be carried in procession with those of 
the other gods, at the next solemnity of the Circensian 
games. 

Thanksgivings were made to the gods for benefits received, 
and on all fortunate events. It was however believed that the 
gods after remarkable success, used to send on men, by the 
agency of Nemesis, a reverse of fortune. To avoid which, as 
is thought, Augustus, in consequence of a dream, every year, on 
a certain day, begged an alms from the people, holding out his- 
hand to such as offered them. 

When a general had obtained a signal victory, a thanksgiving 
(supplicatio) was decreed by the Senate to be made in all the 
temples, and what was called a Lectisternium, when couches 
were spread for the gods, as if they were going to partake of 
a feast, and their images taken from the pedestals, and placed 
on the couches round the altars, which were loaded with the 
richest dishes. A supplication was also decreed in time of 
danger or public distress, when the women prostrating them» 
selves on the ground, swept the temples with their hair. 

Those who sacrificed to the celestial gods were clothed in 
white, they bathed the whole body, made libations by heaving 
the liquor out of the cup, and prayed with the palms of their 
hands raised to heaven. Those who sacrificed to the infernal 
gods were clothed in black, only sprinkled their bosoms with 
water, made libations by turning the hands, threw the cup into 
the fire, prayed with their palms downwards, and struck the 
ground with their feet. It was necessary that the animals 
should be without spot or blemish. They were adorned with 
fillets, ribbons, and crowns; and their horns were gilt. The 
victim was led with a slack rope, that it might not seem to be 
brought by force. After silence was ordered, a salted cake was 
sprinkled on the head of the beast, and frankincense and wine 
poured between the horns, the priest having first tasted the 
wine himself, and given it to be tasted by those who stood next 
to him. The priest plucked the highest hairs between the 
horns, and threw them into the fire. The victim was struck 
with an axe or a mall by order of the priest. Then it was 
stabbed with knives, and the blood caught in goblets was 
poured on the altar. The beast was then flayed and dissected. 
Sometimes it was all burnt, and called holocaustum ; but usually 
only a part, and what remained was divided between the priests 
and the person who offered the sacrifice. These rites were 
common to the Romans with the Greeks. The aruspices, 



HISTORICAL READER. 31 

soothsayers, then inspected the entrails. If the signs were not 
favorable another victim was offered, and sometimes several. 
The liver was the part chiefly inspected, and supposed to give 
the most certain presages of futurity. After the entrails had 
been inspected, the parts of the animal which appertained to 
the gods were sprinkled with meal, wine, and frankincense^ 
and burnt on the altar. When the sacrifice was finished, the 
priest having washed his hands, and offered certain prayers r 
again made a libation, and then the people were dismissed in 
a set form. After the sacrifice followed a feast. Sacrifices 
were of different kinds ; some were stated, others occasional. 

Human sacrifices were also offered among the Romans. 
In the first ages of the republic, human sacrifices seem to have 
been offered annually, and it was not till the year of Rome 
657, ninety-six years before the birth of Christ, that a decree 
of the Senate was made to prohibit them. There were however 
two men slain as victims with the usual solemnities in the 
Campus Martius as late as the time of Julius Csesar, forty years 
before Christ. And Augustus ordered four hundred Senators 
and Knights, who had sided with Antony, to be sacrificed as 
victims on the altar of Julius Ceesar. In like manner, Sex* 
Pompeius threw into the sea not only horses, but also men 
alive, as victims to Neptune. Boys used to be cruelly put to 
death, even in the time of Cicero and Horace, for magical 
purposes. 

Altars and temples afforded an asylum or place of refuge 
among the Greeks and Romans, chiefly to slaves from the 
cruelty of their masters, to insolvent debtors and criminals. 

In the phrase, Pro aris et focis, Ara is put for the altar in 
the middle of the house, where the Penates were worshipped : 
and Focus for the hearth in the hall, where the Lares were 
worshipped. There was a secret place in the temple into 
which none but the priest entered, which was called Adytum. 



CHAPTER III. 



SECTION I. 



ROMAN GAMES. 



Games among the ancient Romans constituted a part of 
religious worship. They were of different kinds at different 
periods of the republic. At first, they were always consecrated 
to some god ; and were either stated (Ludi Stati,) or vowed 
by generals in war, (Votive,) or celebrated on extraordinary 
occasions. At the end of every 110 years games were cele- 
brated for the safety of the empire, for three days and three 
nights, to Apollo and Diana, called Ludi Saeculares. But 
they were not regularly performed at those periods. The 
most famous games were those celebrated at the Circus Maxi- 
mus ; hence called Ludi Circenses. 

The Circus Maximus was first built by Tarquinius Priscus, 
fifth king of Rome, about 560 years before Christ. It is said 
to have contained at least 150,000 persons, according to Pliny 
250. Its circumference was a mile. Before the games began, 
the images of the gods were led along in precession on car- 
riages and in frames, or on men's shoulders, with a great 
train of attendants, followed by combatants, dancers, musicians, 
&c. When the procession was over, the consuls and priests 
performed sacred rites. 

The shows (spectacula) exhibited in the Circus Maximus 
were chiefly the following: 

1. Chariot and horse races, of which the Romans were 
extravagantly fond. The charioteers were distributed into 
four parties or factions, from their different dress or livery; — 
the white; the red ; the sky colored; the green; to which 
Domitian added two, called the golden and purple. The 
spectators favored one or the other, as humor or caprice 
inclined them. It was not the swiftness of the horses, nor the 
art of the men, that attracted them; but merely the dress. 
In the time of Justinian, no less than thirty thousand men are 
said to have lost their lives at Constantinople in a tumult raised 



HISTORICAL READER. 33 

by contention among the partizans of these several colors. 
The victor, being proclaimed by the voice cf a herald, was 
crowned and received a prize in money of considerable value. 
Palms were first given to the victors at games, after the manner 
of the Greeks. 

2. Contests of agility and strength, of which there were 
five kinds ; running; leaping; boxing; wrestling; and throwing 
the quoit. They contended, almost undressed, whence the 
term Gymnasium. 

The Athfetae were anointed with a glutinous ointment; 
boxers covered their hands with a kind of gloves, which had 
lead or iron sewed into them. 

The athletic games among the Greeks were called Iselastfc ? 
because victors drawn by white horses, and wearing crowns on 
their heads (of olive, if victors at the Olympic games; of laurel 
at the Pythian; parsley at the Nemean; and of pine at the 
Isthmian) were conducted with great pomp into their respective 
cities, which they entered through a breach in the walls for 
that purpose; intimating, as Plutarch observes, that a city 
which produced such brave citizens had little occasion for the 
defence of walls. They received for life an annual stipend 
from the public. 

3. Ludus Trojse, a mock fight performed by young men on 
horseback, revived by Julius Csesar, and frequently celebrated 
by the succeeding emperors. 

4. Venatio, or the fighting of wild beasts with one another, 
or with men called Bestiarii, who were either forced to this by 
way of punishment, as the primitive Christians often were ; 
or, fought voluntarily. An incredible number of animals of 
various kinds was brought from all quarters, for the entertain- 
ment of the people, and at an immense expense. They were 
kept in enclosures, called Vivaria, till the day of exhibition. 
Pompey in his second consulship, exhibited at once five 
hundred lions, who were all dispatched in five days ; and also 
eighteen elephants. 

5. The representation of a horse and foot battle, and also 
of an encampment or a siege. 

6. The representation of a sea-fight, (Naumachia,) which 
w r as at first made in the Circus Maximus. Augustus dug a 
lake near the Tiber for this purpose, and Domitian built a 
naval theatre. The combatants were usually composed of 
captives, or malefactors, who fought to death, unless saved by 
the clemency of the emperor. If any thing deemed unlucky 
happened at the games, they were renewed. 



34 HISTORICAL READER* 



SECTION II. 

SHOWS OF GLADIATORS. 

Shows of Gladiators seem to have taken their rise from" the 
custom of slaughtering captives at the tombs of those heroes 
who were slain in battle to appease their manes. Gladiators 
were first exhibited at Rome by two brothers called Bruti at 
the funeral of their father, and for some time they were exhibited 
only on such occasions, but afterwards by magistrates, to 
entertain the people, chiefly at the Saturnalia and feasts of 
Minerva. Incredible numbers of men were destroyed in this 
manner. After the triumph of Trajan over the Dacians, 
spectacles were exhibited for one hundred and twenty-three 
days, in which eleven thousand animals of different kinds 
were killed, and ten thousand gladiators fought. The emperor 
Claudius, although naturally of a gentle disposition, is said to 
have been rendered cruel by often attending the spectacles. 

Gladiators were kept and maintained in schools by persons 
called Lanistse, who purchased and trained them. When they 
were exercised they fenced with wooden swords. At first 
they were composed of captives and slaves, or of condemned 
malefactors. But afterwards free born citizens, induced by 
hire or inclination, some even of noble birth, and what is still 
more wonderful, women of quality sometimes fought in the 
arena. Gladiators were distinguished by their armour and 
manner of fighting. Some were called Secutores, whose arms 
were a helmet, a shield, and a sword, or a leaden bullet. 
With them were usually matched the Retiarii, who were dres- 
sed in a short tunic, but wore nothing on their heads. . Each of 
them bore in his left hand a three-pointed lance called Trideus, 
and in his right a net, with which he attempted to entangle his 
adversary by casting it over his head, and suddenly drawing 
it together, and then with his trident he slew his antagonist. 
But if he missed his aim, by either throwing the net too short, 
or too far, he instantly betook himself to flight, and endeavored 
to prepare his net for a second cast, while his antagonist as 
swiftly pursued to prevent his design by dispatching him. 
Some gladiators fought from chariots, after the manner of the 
Britons and Gauls; others from horseback and with their eyes 
shut. Gladiators were exhibited sometimes at the funeral pile, 
often in the Forum, which was then adorned with statues and 
pictures; but usually in the Amphitheatre, so called because it 



HISTORICAL READER. 8S 

was seated all round, like two theatres joined. Amphitheatres 
were at first temporary, and made of wood. The first of stone 
was built in the reign of Augustus. The largest was that 
begun by Vespasian and completed by Titus, now called 
Colisa3um, from the Colossus, a large statue of Nero which 
stood near it. It was of an oval form, and is said to have 
contained eighty-seven thousand spectators. The ruins still 
remain. The Arena or place where the gladiators fought was 
covered with sand or saw-dust, to prevent the combatants from 
sliding, and to absorb the blood. The part next the Arena, 
secured with a parapet against the irruption of wild beasts, 
contained seats for the Senators; where was also an elevated 
pulpit or tribunal for the emperor, covered with a canopy like 
a pavilion. Here also sat the person who exhibited the games, 
and the Vestal Virgins. The Equites or knights sat in fourteen 
rows covered with cushions behind the Senators, and the people 
behind them on the bare stone. Anciently, women were not 
allowed to attend the gladiatorial exhibitions without permission, 
but this restriction was afterwards removed, and Augustus 
assigned them a particular place in the highest seats of the 
amphitheatre. There were secret tubes, from which the 
spectators were sprinkled with perfumes issuing from certain 
figures. On the day of the exhibition, the gladiators were 
led along the arena in procession. They were then matched 
in pairs, and their swords examined. As a prelude to the 
battle, they fought with wooden swords. On a signal given 
with a trumpet, they assumed their proper arms, adjusted 
themselves with great care, and stood in a particular posture. 
When any gladiator was wounded, the people exclaimed 
habet, he has got it. The gladiator lowered his arm as a sign 
of being vanquished ; but his fate depended on the pleasure of 
the people, who, if they wished him to be saved, pressed down 
their thumbs; if to be slain, thpy turned them up, and ordered 
him to receive the sword, which gladiators usually submitted 
to with amazing fortitude. The rewards given to the victor 
were a palm, a palm crown, w r ith ribbons of different colors 
hanging down from it; money, or a rod or wooden sword, 
as a sign of his being discharged from fighting. The spec- 
tators expressed the same eagerness by betting on different 
gladiators, as in the Circus. 

The people used to remain all day at an exhibition of gla'dia % 
tors, without intermission till it was finished, but at a subse- 
quent period they were dismissed to take their dinners. Shows 
of gladiators were prohibited by Constantine, but not entirely 



36 HISTORICAL READER. 

suppressed till the time of Honorius, A. D. 420. This is one 
of the many glorious triumphs of the mild religion uf Christ 
over the cuel customs of the Roman world. 



SECTION III. 

DRAMATIC ENTERTAINMENTS. 

Stage plays were borrowed from Etruria, and were at first 
only a dance to a flute, without any verse. Afterwards the 
entertainment was improved, and a dramatic composition was 
contrived called Satyrse, satires, because they were filled with 
various matter, and written in various kinds of verse. These 
were set to music, and repealed with suitable gestures, accom- 
panied with the flute and dancing. They contained much 
ridicule and smart repartee. At length a regular play, was 
written in the year of Rome 512, and the author was the 
actor of his own compositions. Being obliged by the audience 
frequently to repeat the same part, he asked permission to 
employ a boy to sing to the flute, whilst ho acted what was 
sung. Hence actors used always to have a person at hand 
to sing to them, and the colloquial part only was left them to 
repeat; and there was commonly a song at the end of every 
act. Plays were afterwards greatly improved at Rome from 
the model of the Greeks by Neevius, Ennius, Plautus, Ccecilius, 
Terence, &c. After playing was converted into an art, the 
Roman youth, leaving regular plays to be acted by professed 
performers, reserved to themselves the acting of ludicrous 
pieces or farces, interlarded with much buffoonery, when the 
piayers and musicians had left the stage, to remove the painful 
impressions of tragic scenes. 

Dramatic entertainments, in their improved state, were 
chiefly of three kinds, Comedy, Tragedy, and Pantomimes. 
Comedy was a representation of common life, written in a 
familiar style, and usually with a happy issue. The design 
of it was to expose vice and folly. Tragedy is the representa- 
tion of some one serious and important action, in which 
illustrious persons are introduced, written in an elevated style, 
and generally with an unhappy issue. Its great end was to 
excite the passions, chiefly pity and horror, to inspire a love 
of virtue and an abhorrence of vice. Thespis, a native of 
Attica, is said to have been the inventor of tragedy about 536 
years before Christ. He went about with his actors from 
village to village in a cart, in which a temporary stage was 



HISTORICAL READER. 37 

erected, on which they played and sung, having their faces 
besmeared with the lees of wine. Thespis was succeeded by 
^Eschylus, who erected a permanent stage, and was the inventor 
of the mask, of the long flowing robe, and of the high-heeled 
shoe or buskin, which tragedians wore. After iEschylus 
followed Sophocles and Euripides, who brought tragedy to the 
highest perfection. Between the acts of a tragedy were 
introduced a number of singers, called the Chorus, who appear 
to have been always present on the stage. The music was 
chiefly that of the flute. Pantomimes were representations by 
dumb show, in which the actors expressed every thing by 
dancing and gestures. Pompey was the first who reared a 
theatre of hewn stone ; it contained forty thousand spectators* 



SECTION IV, 



CUSTOMS OF THE ROMANS* 

The distinguishing part of the Roman dress was the Toga 
or gown. It was a loose flowing woollen robe, which covered 
the whole body, round, and was close at the bottom, but opea 
at the top down to the girdle, without sleeves, so that the right 
arm was at liberty. The form was different at different times. 
None but Roman citizens were permitted to wear it. Under 
the emperors, the Toga was in a great measure disused. The 
ancient Romans had no other clothing; afterwards they wore 
below the Toga a white woollen vest, called Tunica, 
had shoes something like ours, and a slipper or sandal, which 
covered only the sole of the foot. They generally went with 
their heads uncovered except at sacred rites, games, festivals, 
on a journey, and in war. The women used to dress their 
hair in the form of a helmet. They anointed it with the 
richest perfumes, and adorned it with gold, pearls, and precious 
stones, sometimes with crowns and chaplets of flowers. They 
seldom went abroad, but on such occasions they wore veils. 
In private and public mourning they laid aside their ornaments* 
No ornament was more generally worn than rings. The 
senators wore golden and the plebeians iron rings. A ring 
used to be given by a man to a woman whom he was about to 
marry, as a pledge of their intended union. The ancient 
Romans suffered their beards to grow; but afterwards the 
custom of shaving was introduced* Their hair was worn 
usually short, but was sometimes allowed to grow in honor of 

4 



38 HISTORICAL READER, 

some divinity. In grief and mourning also their hair and 
beard remained uncut. The philosophers used to let their 
beards grow to give them an air of gravity. 

The principal meal of the Romans was what they called 
Caena, supper, which was taken at three in the afternoon. 
The ancient Romans lived on the simplest fare, chiefly on 
bread and pot-herbs ; and the chief magistrates, when out of 
office, cultivated the ground with their own hands, sat down 
to fhe same board, and partook of the same food, as their 
servants. Not unfrequently they dressed their own dinner; 
or had it brought them to the field by their wives. Of the 
simplicity of manners which characterized the ancient Romans, 
we have many interesting accounts in their history. On an 
occasion of great danger, Cincinnatus, being appointed Dictator, 
was found by the messengers of the Senate in the midst of 
his little field, guiding his plough. With unaffected simplicity 
yielding to the call of his country, he- turned round to his 
wife, and said, "I am afraid our crop for ibis year must remain 
unsown." 

Pyrrhus, desirous of securing the interest of Fabricius, 
resolved to bestow on him such riches, as should place him on 
a level with the most opulent of his countrymen. But he 
refused all his offers, and said, "What need, think you, have I 
of the wealth you offer? My labors provide me with suste- 
nance, and obtain for me appetite and sleep. I have no cares, 
and my mind is serene and cheerful. My countrymen listen 
willingly to my advice, and confide to me the most important 
trusts : they do not despise me for my poverty ; but consider it, 
as it is, my greatest honor. Two years ago I commanded 
their armies, took several opulent cities, and deposited four 
hundred talents in the public treasury, without reserving 
any thing for myself. Keep your offers, for men over 
whose minds such offers may bear sway." But when riches 
were introduced by the extension of conquest, luxury seized all 
ranks, and the pleasures of the table became the chief object of 
attention. In the early part of their history, they sat at meals ; 
afterwards the custom of reclining was introduced, but on/y at 
supper. Couches were arranged round the table, on each of 
which three guests might recline. The limbs were stretched 
at full length; the upper part of the body reclined on the left 
arm; the head was a little raised, and the back supported by 
cushions. We do not read of their using knives or forks; and 
hence before they began to eat, they always washed their 
hands ; and each guest seems to have brought with him a towel, 



HISTORICAL READER. 39 

into which he sometimes put part of the entertainment to carry 
home to his slaves. Before supper they bathed, preparatory 
to which, they took various kinds of exercise, as the ball or 
tennis, throwing the javelin and the quoit, and riding, running, 
or leaping. Every bath was well supplied with scrapers, 
rubbing cloths, and oil. 

They began their feasts with prayers and libations to the 
gods. They usually threw a part into the fire as an offering 
to the Lares; and when they drank, they poured out a part on 
the table in honor of some god. The table was consecrated 
by setting on it the images of the Lares, and also salt holders, 
salt being held in great veneration. As there were no inns, 
hospitality was much cultivated ; and the Roman nobility used 
to build apartments for strangers. The Romans usually began 
their entertainments with eggs, and ended with fruits. When 
a master wanted a slave to bring him any thing, he made a 
noise with his fingers. An uncommon dish was introduced 
with the sound of the flute, and the servants were crowned 
with flowers. During the time of supper, the guests were 
entertained with music and dancing ; sometimes with panto- 
mimes and play-actors ; with fools, and buffoons, and even 
with gladiators ; but others, desirous of mental improvement, 
passed the time in listening to select passages from books, and 
engaging in literary conversation. It was not uncommon to 
take a vomit after a sumptuous entertainment. Their ordinary 
drink was wine, diluted with water. During the intervals of 
drinking they often played at dice. They ended their repasts 
as they began, with libations and prayers. 

Marriage. — Polygamy was forbidden. No young man or 
woman was allowed to marry without the consent of parents 
or guardians. There was a meeting of friends to settle the 
articles of the marriage contract, which were written on tablets. 
The most solemn form of marriage was when the Chief Pontiff 
united the parties in the presence of at least ten witnesses, by 
a set form of words, and by tasting a cake made of salt, water, 
and flour, which was offered with a sheep in sacrifice to the 
gods. Sometimes a man and woman were married by deliver- 
ing to each other a small piece of money, and repeating certain 
words. The bride bound the door-posts of her husband with 
woollen fillets, anointed them with the fat of swine or wolves, 
to avert fascination or enchantments, whence she was called 
Uxor, (quasi Unxor.) She was lifted over the threshold, or 
she gently stepped over it. It was thought ominous to touch it 
because the threshold was sacred to Vesta. Upon her entry 



40 HISTORICAL READER. 

the keys of the house were delivered to her; and a sheep's skin 
was spread below her, intimating that she was to work at the 
spinning of wool. Both she and her husband touched fire and 
-water, as the origin. of all things. 

Funerals* — The Romans paid the greatest attention to 
funeral rites, because they believed that the souls of the 
unburied were not admitted to the abodes of the dead, or at 
least wandered a hundred years along the river Styx ? before 
they were allowed to cross it ; for which reason, if the bodies 
of their friends could not be found, they erected to them an 
empty tomb, (Cenotaph,) at which they performed the usual 
solemnities; and i[ they saw a dead body they always threw 
some earth upon it. Hence no kind of death was so much 
dreaded a& that by shipwreck. When persons were at the 
point of death, their nearest relations endeavored to catch their 
last breath with their mouth ; for they believed that the soul 
yent out at the mouth. After the body had been bathed with 
Tarm water and anointed with perfumes, it was dressed in the 
test robe which had been worn. The body was laid on a 
;ouch at the vestibule, with the feet outwards, as if about to 
ake its last departure. Then a lamentation was made. A 
small coin was put into the mouth to give to Charon for the 
freight. A branch of cypress was placed at the door, to 
prevent the Chief Pontiff from entering, who would have been 
polluted by looking at a dead body. At first the Romans 
usually interred their dead; under the emperors the custom 
of burning became almost universal, but after the prevalence 
of Christianity, it fell into disuse. The body was carried out 
with the feet foremost, on a couch covered with rich cloth ? 
supported commonly on the shoulders of the nearest relations. 
In the funeral procession first went musicians, then mourning 
women hired to lament and sing the funeral song, or praises 
of the deceased, to the sound of the flute. Next came players 
and buffoons, who danced and sung; these were followed by 
the freed-men of the deceased. Before the corpse were carried 
the images of the deceased and of his ancestors. If the 
deceased had distinguished himself in war, the crowns and 
rewards which he had received for his valor were displayed^ 
together with the spoils and standards he had taken from the 
enemy. At the funeral of an illustrious citizen, an appropriate 
oration was delivered from the Rostra in the Forum ; after 
which the body was carried out of the city to the place of 
burial or burning. On the funeral pile, made in the form of 
an altar, the corpse with the couch was placed ; the eyes were 



HISTORICAL READER. 41 

opened, and the nearest relations kissed the body. Various 
animals were slaughtered at the pile and thrown into it ; and 
gladiators fought round it. The bones and ashes, besprinkled 
with the richest perfumes, were put into an urn ; in which was 
placed sometimes a small glass vial full of tears. It was then 
solemnly deposited in the sepulchre. When the body was not 
burnt, it was put with all its ornaments into a coffin usually of 
stone, sometimes of Assian stone, from Assos, which consumed 
the body in forty days; and was hence called Sarcophagus. 
Oblations and sacrifices to the dead were made at various 
times. The sepulchre was then bespread with flowers, and 
covered with fillets. Before it was a little altar, on which 
libations were made, and incense burnt. 

The highest honors were decreed to illustrious persons after 
death. The Romans worshipped their founder as a god. 
Hence, afterwards the solemn consecration of the emperors, 
(apotheosis,) by a decree of the Senate, who were thus said 
to be ranked in the number of the gods. Temples and priests 
were assigned them. They were invoked with prayers. Men 
swore by their name or genius, and offered victims on their 
altars. 



SECTION V. 

ROMAN METHOD OF WRITING. 

Men in a savage state have always been found ignorant 
of alphabetic characters, and before this art is known, they 
have employed various methods to preserve the memory of 
important events, and communicate their thoughts to those at 
a distance. Important events were commemorated by raising 
altars or heaps of stones, planting groves, instituting games 
and festivals, and by historical songs. The first attempt 
towards the representation of thought was the painting of 
objects. The Egyptians weie the first who contrived certain 
signs or symbols called Hieroglyphics (from two Greek words 
signifying sacred and to carve) by which they represented 
several things by one figure. The Egyptians and the Phoeni- 
cians contended for the honor of having invented letters* 
Cadmus first introduced them into Greece near 1500 years 
before Christ. The most ancient materials for writing were 
stones, then plates of brass, or of lead, and wooden tablets. 
Capital letters only were used. The materials for writing first 

used in common were the leaves or inner bark of trees, whence 

4* 



42 HISTORICAL READER. 

we have the terms leaves of paper, and liber, a book. After- 
wards linen, and tables covered with wax were used. About 
the time of Alexander the Great, 320 years before Christ, 
paper began to be manufactured from an Egyptian reed, called 
papyrus, whence our word paper is derived. After this the 
art of preparing skins was discovered, and most of the ancient 
manuscripts are written on parchment. The art of making 
paper from cotton or silk was invented in the East about the 
beginning of the tenth century, and an imitation of it from 
linen rags in the fourteenth. 

The instrument used for writing on waxen tables, the leaves 
or bark of trees, plates of brass or lead, was an iron pencil 
with a sharp point, called stylus. The stylus was broad at one 
end, so that when they wished to correct any thing, they turned 
the stylus, and smoothed the wax, that they might write on it 
anew. When composing, an author usually wrote first on 
these tables, and afterwards transcribed on paper or parchment. 
As the Romans never wore a sword or dagger in the city, they 
not unfrequently used the stylus as a weapon. They wrote 
only on one side of the paper or parchment, and joined one 
sheet to the end of another, till they finished what they had to 
write, and then rolled it up on a cylinder or staff; whence we 
have the word volume or scroll. All kinds of writings were 
called literee, letters, but the word is most frequently applied 
to epistolary writings. The epistles were sent by a messenger, 
commonly a slave. 



SECTION VI. 

BUILDINGS OF THE ROMANS. 

The houses of the Romans were, during two or three centuries 
after the foundation of the city, low cottages, thatched with 
straw ; but after it was burnt by the Gauls, 388 in the year of 
Rome, they were built in a more solid and commodious style ; 
even then however little attention was paid to the regularity 
of the streets. In the time of Augustus, the city was adorned 
with magnificent buildings ; but private houses seem in general 
to have been incommodious, and even dangerous from their 
height. After the conflagration in the time of Nero, who is 
supposed to have been the cause, and to have imputed the 
crime to the Christians, for which great numbers were burnt 
to death, the city was rebuilt with regularity and splendor. 



HISTORICAL READER. 43 

The small houses dug out of- the ruins of Pompeii bear little 
resemblance to the houses of opulent citizens. A letter of 
Pliny's, which will be found in another part of this work, 
furnishes the most particular and interesting account we have 
of the mansions of the nobility. The houses of the ancient 
Romans admitted the light through apertures: properly wind- 
doors, (windows.) Under the first emperors a transparent 
stone, called lapis specularis, and split into thin leaves like 
slate, was used in the principal apartments of great houses to 
exclude the air : paper, linen cloth, and horn were also used 
for the same purpose. Glass windows are not mentioned till 
about the middle of the fourth century. Pliny informs us, that 
glass was accidentally discovered in Phoenicia by mariners 
burning nitre in the sand of the sea shore. Glass was used by 
the Romans for mirrors and other purposes. In England glass 
windows were introduced A, D. 1177. It is very remarable 
that the Romans did not discover the very simple expedient of 
affording a passage for the smoke by means of chimneys ; and 
we have frequent allusions to the annoyance which they expe- 
rienced from it. They used portable furnaces and burnt wood, 
which they carefully dried and anointed with the lees of oil to 
diminish the quantity of smoke. In the Atrium or hall the 
mistress of the family, with her maidservants, were employed 
in spinning and weaving. The principal manufacture was of 
wool. Linen, though highly valued, was seldom worn. The 
Romans used every method to encourage domestic industry; 
but as luxury increased 5 women of rank and fortune committed 
spinning and weaving entirely to their slaves. 

Of the public buildings of the Romans, the most remarkable 
were, 1st, The Capitol, which wasthe highest part of the city 
and strongly fortified, was in the form of a square, extending 
nearly two hundred feet on each side, and contained three 
temples, consecrated to Jupiter, Minerva, and Juno. It was 
most magnificently adorned. The gates were of brass, and 
the gilding on the roof and other parts cost 12,000 talents, 
more than seven millions of dollars. The ascent from the 
Forum was by an hundred steps ; 2nd, The Pantehon built by 
Agrippa, son-in-law of Augustus. It was consecrated in the 
seventh century to the Virgin Mary and All-Saints ; 3d, Temple 
of Apollo built by Augustus, in which was a public library, 
where authors used to recite their compositions, sometimes 
before select judges, who passed sentence on their comparative 
merits; the temples of Diana, Janus, Saturn, Mars, Juno, 
Venus, Minerva, Neptune, &c; the Odeum, where musicians 



44 HISTORICAL READER. 

and actors rehearsed ; Nymphaeum, adorned with statues of 
Nymphs and abounding with fountains ; the Circi for the 
celebration of games; Stadia for the running of men and 
horses; Palestrae, Gymnasia, and Xysti for wrestling and 
boxing ; Naumachiae for naval engagements ; Curiae for reli- 
gious service ; Fora, where assemblies of the people were held, 
justice administered, and public business transacted ; Porticus 
or piazzas, the most splendid ornaments of the city ; Columns 
of the Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan, and Composite 
(composed of the first three) orders; Triumphal Arches; 
Aqueducts, some of which brought water to Rome through 
rocks and mountains and over valleys, above the distance of 
sixty miles; Cloacae, sewers, so lofty and spacious that vessels 
might sail in them ; Bridges, the most remarkable of which 
was that of Trajan over the Danube. But the Viae, the public 
roads, were the greatest and most useful of all the Roman 
works. These extended to the utmost limits of the empire, 
from the Pillars of Hercules to the Euphrates, and the southern 
confines of Egypt. The Romans had no public posts, but 
horses at the expense of the emperor, were kept in constant 
readiness for the public service, at the distance of half a day's 
journey. 



CHAPTER IV. 



SECTION I. 



THE SENATE. 



Rome was founded by Romulus 753 years before Christ* 
The people were divided into two ranks, Patricians and 
Plebeians, connected together as Patrons and Clients. At 
a subsequent period, a third order was added, called Equites 7 
or Knights. The Senate was instituted by Romulus to be the 
perpetual council of the Republic. It consisted only of Patri- 
cians, and was limited to a hundred, but after the admission of 
the Sabines another hundred was chosen from them. Tar- 
quinius Priscus^ the fifth king of Rome, added one hundred 
more, which number continued with little variation to the time of 
Sylla, eighty years before Christ. He increased the number; 
and, in the time of Julius Ceesar there were nine hundred 
Senators; but this number, as is afterwards stated, was much 
reduced by Augustus. At first, the Senators were chosen by 
the kings, but after their expulsion to the time of the re-establish- 
ment of the monarchy, the practice varied, not only with 
respect to the constituents, but also the qualification of the 
person nominated. The emperors created whom they pleased. 
The title, princeps senatus, although it inferred no command 
nor emolument, was esteemed a peculiar honor, and was 
retained for life. Anciently, there was no property qualifica- 
tion ; but, as the State increased in wealth, and decreased in 
virtue, a considerable fortune was requisite; and at the end of 
every fifth year, when the Senate was reviewed by the censors, 
every Senator, whose fortune was reduced below a certain 
amount, was passed over in reading the roll, and he was 
excluded. The Senate met at stated times, but no decree 
could be passed unless there was a quorum, of which the 
number is uncertain. Augustus enacted, that an ordinary 
meeting of the Senate should not be held oftener than twice 
a month } uuder the specious pretext of indulgence, but with 



46 HISTORICAL READEB. 

the real design of diminishing their authority. When the 
house was assembled, the presiding magistrate, the consul or 
praetor, laid the business before them in a set form, and asked 
their opinions, beginning with the consul elect. Nothing could 
be laid before the Senate against the will of the consuls, unless 

£ by the tribunes of the people, who might also give the negative 

v\ against any decree, by the solemn word Veto. Too much of 
the time of the house was unprofitably spent in long speeches, 
to which no limit was fixed. On one occasion, when Cato, 

v * to prevent the passing of a bill, attempted to waste the day in 
speaking, Julius Csesar tyrannically ordered him to be led to 
prison. The house rose to follow him, and Csesar was obli- 
ged to retract his imperious mandate. The speaker usually 
addressed himself to the whole assembly by the title of Patres 
Conscripti; sometimes however to the President, and occasion- 
ally to both. The majority of votes on any measure was 
ascertained by a division of the members who went to different 
parts of the house. The proceedings of the Senate appear to 
have been generally published, and public registers were kept 
of what was done in the assemblies of the people and courts of 
justice ; also of births and funerals, of marriages, and divorces. 

% The decrees of the Senate before the year of the city 306 were 
suppressed or altered at the pleasure of the consuls; but they 
were very rarely, during the flourishing period of the Republic, 
reversed. While a question was under debate, every one 
was at liberty to express his dissent, but when once determined, 
it was the common concern of each member to support the 
opinion of the majority. 

The power of the Senate was at some periods of the Roman 
government almost supreme, but under the emperors the autho- 
rity was in general merely nominal. Under the regal govern- 
ment established by Romulus, the Senate deliberated upon such 
public affairs as the king proposed to them ; and he was said 
to act by their counsel. Tarquin, the last of the seven kings, 
who was expelled for his tyranny, treated the Senate with 
haughty contempt, and put to death the principal members. 
After his expulsion in the year 243 of Rome, its authority was 
almost unlimited for several years. The people justly com- 
plained, and felt that they had exchanged the tyranny of one 
whose interests were identified with their own, for the insolent 
oppression of a privileged class, constantly aiming to enhance 
their own authority at their expense. The Plebeians took up 
arms in their own defence, seized on mons Sacer, and created 
tribunes, who attacked the authority of the Senate, and in 



HISTORICAL READER. 47 

process of time greatly diminished it. The establishment of 
the right of the tribunes to veto the decrees -of the Senate was 
the most important change in the Roman constitution; but 
means were often successfully used to defraud the people of 
this privilege. In all affairs of great importance, the method 
observed after the right of veto was obtained, was that the 
Senate should first deliberate and decree, and then the people 
order. But the Senate retained, by the custom of their ances- 
tors, the guardianship of the public religion, the direction of 
the treasury, the settlement of the provinces, the nomination, 
and from their own body, of all ambassadors, the appointment 
of public thanksgivings for victories, the conferring the honor 
of a triumph on their victorious generals, of the title of king 
on any foreign prince, the inquisition of public crimes or trea- 
sons, and the power of interpreting the laws, and absolving 
men from their obligations, and even of abrogating them. 
They could postpone the assemblies of the people. But the 
power of the Senate was most conspicuous in civil dissensions, 
in which that solemn decree used to be passed, "that the 
consuls should take care that the republic should receive no 
harm." By this decree an absolute power was granted to the 
consuls to punish and put to death whom they pleased, without 
a trial ; to raise forces, and carry on war without the order of 
the people. 

The power of the Senate was shaken to its foundation 
by the most artful of all demagogues, Julius Caesar, who, 
by basely flattering the people, broke down all the barri- 
ers of the constitution, and obtained supreme power. One 
who knew human nature has assured us, "That he who 
fiattereth his neighbor, spreadeth a net for his feet." May 
the people of this great Commonwealth spurn with contempt 
the wretch that flatters them ; and always "hold it mean to 
borrow aught from adulation." 



SECTION II. 



THE EQUITES OR KNIGHTS. 

The Equites did not at f rst form a distinct order in the 
State. When Romulus divided the people into three tribes, he 
chose from each tribe a hundred of the most distinguished 
young men, who should serve on horseback, and be ready to 
guard his person. This number was afterwards much increas* 



48 HISTORICAL README. 

ed. Servius Tullius in the year of Rome 177 made eighteen 
centuries of Equities, choosing twelve new centuries from the 
chieFmen of the Slate, and made six others out of the three 
instituted by Romulus. Ten thousand pounds of brass were 
given to each of them to purchase horses; and a tax was laid 
on widows, who were exempt from other contributions, for 
maintaining their horses. Hence the origin of the Equestrian 
order, which was of the greatest utility in the State, as an 
intermediate bond between the Patricians and the Plebeians. 
They seem to have been reckoned a distinct order before the 
expulsion of the kings. After this event, all who were on 
horseback were not properly called knights, but only such as 
were chosen into the equestrian order, usually by the censor. 
They were presented by him with a horse at the public expense, 
and with a gold ring. The Equites were chosen promiscuously 
from the Patricians and Plebeians. Their office at first was to 
serve in the army, but they afterwards acted as judges and 
jurymen, and farmed the public revenues. Every fifth year 
they formed a splendid procession through the city from the 
Temple of Honor to the Capitol, riding on horseback, with 
wreaths of olive in their hands, dressed in their peculiar cos- 
tume of a scarlet color, and bearing in their hands the military 
ornaments which they had received from their general, as a 
reward for their valor. At the same time, they passed in re- 
view before the censor, and dismounting, led along their horses 
in their hands. If any one was deemed corrupt in his morals, 
or had diminished his fortune, or had not taken proper care of 
his horse, he was removed from the Equestrian order. 



SECTION III. 

THE PLEBEIAN OR POPULAR ORDER. 

All the other Roman citizens, besides Patricians and Equites, 
were called Plebs or Populus. Populus sometimes compre- 
hends the whole nation, but Plebs is usually put for the lowest 
common people. The Plebs Rustica, the peasantry, was the 
more respectable class. The Plebs Urbana was composed of 
the poorer citizens, many of whom followed no trade, but were 
supported by the public and private largesses. In the latter 
ages of the empire, an immense quantity of corn was annually 
distributed among them at the public expense, five bushels 
monthly to each man. Their principal business was to attend 



HISTORICAL HEADER. 49 

®n the tribunes and popular magistrates in their assemblies. 
There were leading men among the populace, kept in pay by 
the seditious magistrates, who used for hire to stimulate them 
to the most daring outrages. The turbulence of the common 
people of Rome, the natural effect of idleness and unbounded 
licentiousness, is justly reckoned among the chief causes of the 
fall of the Republic. Trade and manufactures being considered 
as servile employments, they had no encouragement to industry; 
and the numerous spectacles which were exhibited, particularly 
the shows of gladiators, served to increase their natural ferocity. 
They were consequently, as we learn more particularly from 
Sallust's account of Cataline's conspiracy, always ready to 
join in any seditious movement. 

That the Patricians and Plebeians might be connected by the 
strictest bonds, Romulus ordained that every Plebeian should 
choose from the Patricians any one he pleased as his patron, or 
protector, whose client he was called. It was the part of the 
patron to advise and defend his client, and to render him every 
needful assistance; and the client was under obligation to pay 
his patron every kind of respect, and serve him with his life 
and fortune in any extremity. It was unlawful for them to 
accuse or bear witness against each other; and whoever violated 
his engagement might, be slain with impunity, as a victim 
devoted to Pluto and the infernal gods. 'It was esteemed 
highly honorable for a Patrician to have numerous clients, 
whether hereditary or acquired by his own merits. 



SECTION IV. 



NAMES OF THE ROMANS. 

The Romans at first seem to have had but one name, or two. 
But when they were divided into tribes or clans, or families, 
they began commonly to have three. The sirnames were 
derived from various circumstances, as Cato from wisdom ; 
Calvus, bald; Crassus, fat; Macer, lean; from the habit of 
the body, &c. The eldest son of the family usually got the 
prsenomen of his father; the rest were called from their uncles 
or other relations. 



50 r , HISTORICAL READER. 



SECTION V. 



SLAVES. 

Men became slaves among the Romans, by being taken in 
war, by sale, by way of punishment, or from being born in a 
state of servitude. Fathers might sell their children for slaves, 
and insolvent debtors were given up to their creditors as slaves. 
The children of any female slave became the slaves of her 
master. There was no regular marriage amongst them. 
They were under absolute control, and might be scourged, 
branded, or put to death at the will of their owner. When 
punished capitally, they were in general crucified; but this 
mode of punishment was prohibited by Constantine. Slaves 
not only performed all domestic services, but were likewise 
employed in various arts and manufactures. Some were 
instructed carefully in literature and the liberal arts, and sold 
at a great price. Plutarch, in his life of Crassus, says, " that 
the revenue he drew from his mines was nothing in comparison 
of that produced by his slaves ; so great a number had he of 
them, and all useful in life, as readers, amanuenses, book-keep- 
ers, stewards j and cooks. He used to attend to their educa- 
tion, and often gave them lessons himself." At one time, 
slaves were allowed the greatest freedom, especially at the 
Saturnalia, when they were served at table by their masters. 

Various methods were used in giving a slave his liberty. 
Sometimes by having his name inserted in the Censor's roll ; 
sometimes by will, and by taking him to the Consul or Praetor, 
and saying, "I desire that this man be free according to the 
custom of the Romans." The Praetor pronounced his free- 
dom, and the lictor or master, turning him round in a circle, 
gave him a blow on the cheek. Other means were also used. 
When liberated the slaves shaved their heads in the temple of 
Feronia, and received a cap as a badge of liberty. They were 
also presented with a white robe and a ring ; and prefixed the 
name of their patron to their own. Augustus ordained that no 
slave who, on account of any crime, had been bound, publicly 
whipped, branded in the face, or tortured, should ever obtain 
the freedom of the city, although freed by his master. 



CHAPTER V. 



RIGHTS OF ROMAN CITIZENS, 



While Rome was but thinly inhabited, all that fixed their 
abode in the city or Roman territory obtained the right of 
citizens; and to increase the number, Romulus opened an 
asylum or sanctuary for fugitive slaves, insolvent debtors, and 
malefactors. Vanquished enemies, when transplanted to 
Rome, became citizens. And after the expulsion of Tarquin, 
and the burning of the city by the Gauls, great numbers were 
admitted to the rights of citizenship. Several foreign towns, 
called Municipia, partook of the freedom of the city. But 
when the Roman empire became widely extended, the right of 
citizenship was sparingly conferred. Augustus wished to 
enhance its dignity, and was not therefore so liberal in 
bestowing it. But the succeeding emperors bestowed- the 
privilege on many cities and nations, and Caracalla on all 
the inhabitants of the Roman world, who were not in a state 
of slavery. 

The private rights of Roman citizens were as follows: 1st, 
the right of liberty; 2d, the right of family; 3d, the right of a 
father; 4th, the right of legal property; 5th, the right of making 
a will and of succeeding to an inheritance; 6th, the right of 
tutelage, or wardship. 

1st. The right of liberty comprehended security against the 
tyrannical treatment of magistrates, by appealing from them 
to the people, who were to determine the case ; and protection 
from the insolence and tyranny of more powerful citizens. 
None but the whole Roman people in the Comita Centuriata, 
could pass sentence on the life of a Roman citizen. No 
magistrate was allowed to punish him with stripes or capitally. 
The single expression, " I am a Roman citizen," checked their 
severest decrees. Insolvent debtors, however, were used with 
great severity. They were bound in fetters, and often treated 
more harshly than the slaves. A law was, at a subsequent 
period, passed to mitigate this cruel treatment ; but it did not 



52 HISTORICAL READER* 

free the debtor from imprisonment. It was an act of justice 
to incarcerate and treat a fraudulent debtor as a heinous crimi- 
nal ; but the law of justice, as well as mercy, is violated by 
subjecting to any punishment the honest man, who, through 
unforeseen circumstances, is not able to filfil his engagements. 

2d. The right of family. Each gens, clan, and each family 
had certain sacred rights peculiar to itself, which went by 
inheritance in the same manner as effects. When heirs by the 
father's side of the same family failed, those of the same clan 
succeeded, in preference to relations by the mother's side of the 
same family. No one could pass from a Patrician family to a 
Plebeian, or from a Plebeian to a Patrician, unless by that 
form of adoption which could only be made at the Comitia 
Curiata. 

3d. Rites of Marriage. No Roman citizen was permitted to 
marry a slave, a barbarian, or a foreigner, unless by the per- 
mission of the people. Intermarriages between the Patricians 
and Plebeians were at one time prohibited ,• but this law was 
not long in force. 

4th. The Right of a Father. He had not only the power 
of life and death over his children, but could expose them 
when infants — -a most barbarous custom which prevailed at 
Rome for many ages, as among the Greeks and other nations. 
A new born infant was not deemed legitimate, unless the 
father, or in his absence some person for him, lifted it from the 
ground, and placed it in his bosom. Even when his children 
were grown up, he might imprison, scourge, send them bound 
into the country, and put them to death by any punishment he 
pleased. A son could not acquire any property except with 
his father's consent. A daughter, by marriage, passed from 
the power of the father under that of the husband. 

None but a Roman citizen could make a will. Testaments 
were usually subscribed by the testator, and generally by wit- 
nesses. A man might disinherit his own children. If the 
legacy was expressed in Greek, it was not valid. 



CHAPTER VI* 



THE COMITIA CENTURIATA AND THE CENSUS. 

The census was a numbering of the people with a valuation 
of their fortunes. It was ordained by Servius in the year of 
Rome 177, that all Roman citizens in town and country, should 
upon oath give in an estimate of their fortunes, tell the place 
of their abode, the names of their wives and children, and their 
own age, and that of their children, and the number of their 
slaves and freemen. He also divided the citizens into six 
classes, and each class into a number of centuries. There 
was the greatest number of centuries in the first class, which 
consisted of the richest citizens ; and in the lowest class, which 
was the most numerous, there was but one century. When 
the people gave their votes, divided into clans and centuries, 
the assembly was called Comitia Centuriata. Here the vote 
of each citizen was not of equal force, as formerly in the 
Comitia Curiata, or the assemblies of the Curiae, but every 
thing was determined by a majority of centuries. Thus the 
chief power was vested in the nobility and most wealthy citi- 
zens. But these bore the taxes, and ail public burdens in 
proportion. The institution of the census is considered as the 
basis of the Republic, and continued to be observed during the 
existence of liberty. It seems however to have been chiefly 
calculated to favor the interest of the Patricians, by connecting 
power with wealth, and to promote the military character of 
the Romans. It had much the appearance of a military 
muster, as anciently the people always went armed, and in 
martial order to hold their assemblies. 

The candidates, so called from a white robe made particu- 
larly white and shining, (the toga of all the wealthy Romans 
was white,) endeavored to gain the favor of the people by 
every popular art — frequenting their houses, shaking hands 
with those they met, addressing them in a friendly manner, 
and calling them by name : prompted by a monitor, or nomen- 
clator. Bribery was also commonly used, although forbidden 

5* 



54 HISTORICAL READER. 

by law. Even Cato himself was guilty of sanctioning this-" 
infamous means of corruption. The stern advocate of liberty 
scrupled not to assist in undermining public principle, and yefc 
had the inconsistency to complain of the degeneracy of the 
times. He lent his aid to sap the foundations of the glorious 
fabric which his ancestors had reared, and then like a coward 
laid violent hands upon himself to escape the crash of the 
impending ruin. 



CHAPTER VII. 



SECTION I. 



MAGISTRATES. 



The Regal Government subsisted at Rome for two hundred 
and forty-three years under seven kings, Romulus, Numa 
Pompilius, Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Martius, L. Tarquinius 
Priscus, Servius Tullius, and L. Tarquinius Superbus, all of 
whom, except the last, are thought by their conduct to have 
laid the foundations of the Roman greatness. The revolution 
in the government was brought about by L. Junius Brutus, 
whom Livy represents making the following animated address 
over the dead body of Lucretia : 

"Yes, noble lady! I swear by this blood, which was once 
so pure, and which nothing but royal villainy could have 
polluted, that I will pursue Lucius Tarquinius the proud, his 
wicked wife and their children, with fire and sword, nor will 
I ever suffer any of that family, or of any other family 
whatsoever, to be King in Rome. Ye gods, I call you to 
witness this my oath ! There, Romans, turn your eyes to 
that sad spectacle — the daughter of Lucretius, Collatinus' 
wife. She died by her own hand. See there a noble lady, 
whom the lust of Tarquin reduced to the necessity of being 
her own executioner to attest her innocence. Hospitably 
entertained by her as a kinsman of her husband's, Sextus, 
the perfidious guest, used brutal violence. The chaste, the 
generous Lucretia, could not survive the insult. Glorious 
woman! but once treated as a slave, she thought life no longer 
to be endured. Lucretia, a woman, disdained a life that 
depended on a tyrant's will; and shall we, shall men, with 
such an example before our eyes, and after five and twenty 
years of ignominious servitude, shall we, through a fear of 
dying, defer one single instant to assert our liberty? No, 
Romans, now is the time ; the favorable moment we have bo 



56 HISTORICAL READER. 

long waited for is come. Tarquin is not at Rome. The 
Patricians are at the head of the enterprize. The city is 
abundantly supplied with men, arms, and ail things necessary* 
There is nothing wanting to secure the success, if our own 
courage do not fail us. Can all these warriors, who have ever 
been so brave when foreign enemies were to be subdued, or 
when conquests were to be made to gratify the ambition 
and avarice of Tarquin, be then only cowards, when they 
are to deliver themselves from slavery? Some of you are 
perhaps intimidated by the army which Tarquin now com- 
mands ; the soldiers you imagine will take the part of their 
general. Banish so groundless a fear. The love of liberty is 
natural to all men. Your fellow citizens in the camp feel the 
weight of oppression with as quick a sense as you that are in 
Rome: they will as eagerly seize the occasion of throwing 
off the yoke. But let us grant there may be some among 
them, who through baseness of spirit, or a bad education, will 
be disposed to favor the tyrant. The number of these can be 
but small, and we have means sufficient in our hands to reduce 
them to reason. They have left us hostages more dear to 
them than life. Their wives, their children, their fathers, 
their mothers, are here in .the city. Courage, Romans! the 
gods are for us : those gods, whose temples and altars the 
impious Tarquin has profaned with libations and sacrifices 
made with polluted hands, polluted with blood, and with 
numerous unexpiated crimes committed against his subjects. 
Ye gods, who protected our forefathers ; ye genii, who 
watch for the preservation and glory of Rome, do you 
inspire us with courage and unanimity in this glorious cause, 
and we will to our last breath defend your worship from 
profanation." 

The Consular State, or the Republic, lasted 464 years. 
Two supreme magistrates were annually elected, who had 
equal authority, that they might restrain one another, and not 
become insolent by their great power. He who had the 
greater number of votes, usually presided at the election of 
magistrates for the next year. They were at the head of the 
whole Republic. All other magistrates were subject to them 
except the Tribunes of the commons. They assembled the 
people and the Senate, laid before them what they pleased, and 
executed their decrees. The laws, which they proposed and 
passed, were commonly called by their name. They received 
all letters from the governors of provinces, and from foreign 
kings and states, and gave audience to ambassadors. They 



HISTORICAL READER. 57 

levied soldiers, provided what was necessary for their support ; 
appointed many of the military tribunes, the centurions and 
other officers; and had command over the provinces. In 
dangerous conjunctures, they were armed with absolute power 
by a decree of the Senate. Under the emperors, their power 
was merely nominal. 

At first, the consuls were chosen only among the Patricians, 
but afterwards the Plebeians were eligible. This important 
change, although in reality owing to more important causes, 
was immediately occasioned by a trifling circumstance. 
M. Fabius Ambustus, a nobleman, had two daughters, the 
elder of whom was married to Sulpicius, a Patrician, and the 
younger to C. Licinius Stolo, a Plebeian. While the latter 
was one day visiting her sister, the lictor of Sulpicius, who 
was then military tribune, happened to strike the door with 
his rod, as w^ usual when that magistrate returned home from 
the forum. The younger Fabia, unacquainted with the custom, 
was frightened at the noise, which made her sister laugh and 
express surprise at her ignorance. This stung her to the 
quick ; and upon her return she could not conceal her uneasi- 
ness. Her father seeing her dejected, asked her if all was 
well; but she at first would not give a direct answer; and it 
was with difficulty he, at last, drew from her a confession, that 
she was chagrined at being connected with a man who could 
not enjoy the same honors as her sister's husband. For 
although it had been ordained by law, that the military tribunes 
should be created promiscuously from the Patricians and 
Plebeians, yet for forty-four years after their first institution, 
in the year of the city 311 to 355, no one Plebeian had been 
created, and very few afterwards. Ambustus, therefore, con- 
soled his daughter with assurances, that she should soon see 
the same honors at her own house, which she saw at her 
sister's. To effect this, he concerted measures with his so&- 
in-law* and one L. Sextius, a spirited young man of Plebeian 
rank, who had every thing but birth to entitle him to the highest 
preferments. 

Licinius and Sexitus being created tribunes of the commons* 
got themselves continued in that office for ten years ; for five 
years they suffered no curule magistrate to be created, and 
at last prevailed to get one of the consuls created from among 
the Plebeians. (Curule from currus a chariot used by the 
Roman magistrates, consuls, praetors, censors, and chief 
sediles, whence they were called Magistratus Curules; and 



58 HISTORICAL READER. 

the seat on which they sat the Sella Curulis, because they 
carried it with them in their chariots.) 

Prcetor.— *The name of Praetor was anciently common to 
all the magistrates. But the office, to which the name Prsetor 
became appropriated, was instituted to supply in the court of 4 
justice, the place of the Consuls, who were almost constantly 
engaged in military affairs. He was next in dignity to the 
consuls, and was at first created only among the Putricians, as 
a kind of compensation for the consulship being communicated 
to the Plebeians. But in the year of Rome 418, the Plebeians 
also became eligible. A second Praetor was afterwards made 
to' administer justice to the foreigners who now flocked in 
great numbers to Rome ; and subsequently the number was 
increased to six. 

Censors.—^ The office of Censor was one of great importance* 
and it is called by Plutarch, the summit of all preferment. — 
The censors, for there were two, were at first elected for five 
years, but afterwards for one year and a half; they were at first 
chosen from the Patricians, but afterwards from the people 
also ; they had to take an account of the number of the citizens, 
the value of their fortunes, and to inspect their morals. 
They also divided the citizens into classes and centuries, 
made arrangements for the building of the public works, 
had the charge of paving the streets, making roads^ &c. Their 
power did not extend to public crimes that were punishable by 
law, but to matters of a private nature. Their office we should 
regard very inquisitorial and tyrannical, if now in use; for it 
interfered with matters affecting the private liberty of the sub- 
ject, as the cultivation of his ground, the contraction of debts, 
and several domestic arrangements. But if the censors acted 
improperly they could be brought to trial. No one could be 
elected a second time to this office. Under the emperors it 
was abolished ; but the chief parts of the office were exercised 
by them or other magistrates. 



SECTION II. 



TRIBUNES OF THE PEOPLE. 

On the expulsion of Tarquin the aristocracy behaved with 
great insolence to the people. The haughty spirit which 
actuated the Patricians is admirably depicted by Shakspeare 



HISTORICAL HEADER. 50 

in the character of Coriolanus, who was at this time the most 
distinguished general of the Roman army : 

"For the mutable rank scented many, I say again 

In soothing them, we nourish 'gainst our Senate 

The cockle of rebellion, insolence, sedition, 

Which we ourselves have ploughed for, sow'd and scatter' d 

By mingling them with us, the honor'd number ; 

Who lack not virtue, no, nor power, but that 

Which we have given to beggars. 

What should the people do with these bald tribunes ? 

On whom depending, their obedience fails 

To the greater bench: in a rebellion 

Were they chosen. Despight o'erwhelm them ; 

The tongues of the common mouth". I do despise them, 

For they do prank them in authority 

Against all noble sufferance. 

Let's throw their power i' the dust," 

The Plebeians, especially the debtors, oppressed by usurious 
interest, turned their indignation against the Senate, and at 
length determined to submit no longer. Being led out of the 
city under pretence of a new war against the iEqui, they 
snatched up their ensigns and took possession of a neighboring 
mountain, where they quietly encamped. The Senate appre- 
hending a civil war at last reluctantly sent several deputations 
to negotiate with the malecontents. On which occasion, 
Junius Brutus stepped forward and addressing his comrades 
said : 

"Know you not that you are free? Have not this camp 
and these arms convinced you that you are no longer under 
your tyrants'? These Patricians, so haughty and imperious, 
now send to court us ; they invite us as their fellow citizens to 
return into our community ; nay, some of our sovereigns, you 
see, are so gracious as to come to our very camp, to offer us a 
general pardon. But which of the two orders was it that first 
violated those laws of society, which ought to reign among 
the members of one and the same Republic ? This is the 
question. Scarcely was the war finished, when they forgot 
both our services and your oaths." 

The Senate promised a remission of all debts, and liberty to 
all debtors. On this concession the people seemed disposed to 
yield, but Brutus, by representing to them the little confidence 
which could be placed on the promises of the Senate under the 



60 HISTORICAL READER. 

influence of fear, induced them to second him in making the 
following request : " Grant us," said he, " the privilege of 
creating annually, out of the body of the Plebeians, some 
magistrates, who shall have no other power but that of succor- 
ing the people, when injustice or violence is done to them, and 
of defending their rights both public and private." The propo- 
sition excited great surprise and apprehension in the Senate, 
but after a stormy debate, the majority yielded, and the just 
Magna Charta of Roman liberty was ratified. No single 
event in the civil history of Rome is of equal importance. 
The form of the government was changed. On the expulsion 
ofTarquin, the whole authority devolved upon the Senate and 
the opulent ; but now, by the creation of Tribunes, a democracy 
rose into form, and the people by insensible degrees obtained 
possession of the greater share in the government. And had 
fhey not become corrupted by luxury, and yielded to the 
various artifices that were used to degrade them, and listened 
to the cunning devices of ambitious demagogues, who flattered 
them to their ruin, — no one in the present day would have 
dared to insult human nature, by denying the perpetuity of 
governments founded on the principle of the natural equality 
of man. The government of Rome was now established on a 
popular foundation. There was no obstruction to merit, and 
the most deserving were promoted ; and the republic was 
managed for many years with quiet and moderation. The 
reign of liberty was the period of Roman virtue. Under the 
sublime influence of this spirit, Camillus said, (when the people 
in great consternation from the approach of the Gauls were 
debating whether they should not remove to Veii, a city much 
better built,) "Can you find in your hearts to quit these sacred 
seats? The gods have preserved them to you, and will you 
desert them? Here you were born: here the sons of Rome 
first learned those virtues which all the world must admire. 
With this hallowed residence you will resign your fortunes, 
your courage, and the memory and imitation of your great 
progenitors." And on another occasion, when they had agreed 
to disburse to Brennus a thousand pounds weight of gold, on 
condition that he would leave their territory, the same great 
hero, coming unexpectedly with a k\v of his officers to the 
spot, where the negociation was going on, indignantly cried 
out, "Away with your gold into the Capitol; and you, Gauls, 
take away your weights and scales;" — and, Curtius, (when the 
priests declared that a frightful chasm, which excited much 
superstitious apprehension, would never close, till the most 



HISTORICAL READER. 61 

precious thing in Rome was consecrated and devoted,) came 
to the spot on horseback and in armor, and asking the sur- 
rounding multitude, "what they thought was so precious as arms 
and virtue," spurred his horse, plunged into the gulf, and offered 
his life a sacrifice for his country^ — and, Titus Manlius 
Tonjuatus sacrificed all the feelings of a father to his strong 
sense of public duty, telling his son, who had eminently 
distinguished his valor, but infringed the orders of the camp, 
that he had reduced him to the dire necessity of either forgetting 
the ties of blood, or dissolving forever the bands of military- 
discipline; — and, Decius, who, (after the prophecy of the 
augurs, that that army should come off victorious, whose 
general devoted himself for the public,) wrapped his robes 
round him, threw himself into the thickest of the enemy, 
and fell covered with wounds; — -and, Curius Dentatus, (when 
the Samnite ambassadors arrived at his habitation loaded with . 
rich presents and vessels of gold, and found him clothed in 
homely attire, sitting on a wooden bench near his fire, dressing 
a dinner of roots,) after listening to specious and insinuating 
proffers with a contemptuous smile, said, "Do you believe that 
a man who can live as you see me do, will barter for a portion 
of sordid metal, his honest fame, and the duties which he owes 
as a citizen and a magistrate to his country;" — and, Regulus, 
the Roman general, (taken prisoner by the Carthaginians, and 
sent by them with their ambassadors to Rome to open a nego- 
ciation for peace and exchange of prisoners, on condition that 
he should return to them if the embassy was not successful,) 
witnessing all the joy which the Roman citizens manifested at 
his return with an unaltered countenance, refusing the embrace 
of his wife and children, declaring that he would not enter the 
city ; as he was now but a slave to Carthage come to execute 
her orders; and being called upon for his opinion respecting 
the treaty, said, "Rome has never yet concluded a peace of 
which she has not dictated the conditions, nor must she now; 
the Roman who throws down his arms, and capitulates for 
life, has nothing to expect from the commonwealth; as for 
myself, I am old, confinement has crippled, and misfortune 
rendered me useless ; I am the judge of what belongs to me to 
do, and I shall infallibly return a prisoner to Carthage;" — and, 
Rome, after the disastrous battle of Cumee, expecting every 
hour the enemy at her gates, returning thanks to Varro, (the 
only considerable officer that survived this defeat, and was 
collecting the fragments of his army again to meet the victori- 
ous Hannibal,) that he had not despaired of the Republic; — 

a 



'- 



62 HISTORICAL READER. 

Rome, selling to her citizens at its full value the ground on 
which the Carthaginian army was encamped ;• — Rome, when 
the enemy was in possession of her richest territory, threaten- 
ing her gates, transplanting her brave legions to Africa, and 
assaulting the walls of Carthage; — these are some of the 
glorious achievements of liberty, which in the language of the 
poet, "Creates a soul under the ribs of death." 

But after the destruction of Carthage wealth and luxury 
were introduced; the more wealthy Plebeians joined the Patri- 
cians, and they, in conjunction, engrossed all the honors and 
emoluments of the state. The body of the people were again 
oppressed, and the tribunes, either overawed or corrupted, did 
not exert their influence to prevent it. Their power at one 
period was almost unlimited. They could put a negative on 
all the decrees of the Senate; they could hinder the collection 
of tribute, the enlisting of soldiers, and the creation of magis- 
trates. Whoever did not obey their Veto was led to prison, 
and a day appointed for his trial. They could put off trials, 
hinder the execution of a sentence, and could even pull victo- 
rious generals from their triumphal chariot. Whoever hurt a 
tribune by word or deed was held accursed, and his goods 
were confiscated. But after the fall of Carthage, and the 
introduction of luxury, the people, given up to indolence and 
public amusements, ceased to respect themselves. They spent 
their time at shows and entertainments, and became ihe sub- 
servient tools of those who gratified their passions. Public 
virtue, and private worth were neglected and despised, and 
liberty degenerated into licentiousness. 

At last Tiberius and Caius Gracchus, the grandsons of 
Scipio Africanus, bravely undertook to assert the liberties of 
the people, and check the oppression of the nobility. But all 
their virtuous zeal for public liberty was in vain. They were 
not seconded by the degenerate people, and fell a sacrifice in 
their laudable endeavors to assert the rghts of the Plebeians. 
The power of the nobles was increased by this unsuccessful 
effort, and the people were more oppressed than ever. In the 
Jugurthine war, the people gained, by the bold eloquence of the 
tribune Memmius, the ascendency; but the faithless and ambi- 
tious Marius betrayed them ; and under Sylla the aristocracy 
re-established their dominion. After his death, the tribunitial 
power was for a short period restored ; but the people were too 
much degraded to appreciate the blessing of liberty, and, hence- 
forth, tribunes were employed by the leading men as the tools 



HISTORICAL READER. 63 

of their ambition. The tribunial power expired on the estab- 
lishment of the Imperial Government. 



SECTION III. 

JEtdiles. — These magistrates, named from sedes, a building 5 
had the care of the public edifices, and had causes of secondary 
importance assigned to their jurisdiction. They were chosen 
indiscriminately from the Patricians and Plebeians. This 
order continued to the time of Augustus. 

Qumsiors. — The institution of Quaestors, so called (a queer- 
endo) because they got in the public revenues, seems to have 
been nearly as ancient as the city itself. The qusestorship 
was considered the first step of preferment, but it was an office 
of considerable influence, and was eagerly solicited by all 
ranks of citizens. Two of these officers resided in the city, 
and two attended the consuls in their military expeditions. In 
the year of Rome 498, (when silver was first coined in the 
Republic,) the number was doubled. At this period all Italy 
was subdued, and the labors of the office were much increased. 
They not only received, but also disbursed the public money, 
which was kept in the temple of Saturn ; they had the charge 
of the military standards, which were generally of silver, 
sometimes of gold ; they entertained foreign ambassadors ; and 
superintended the funerals of those w r ho were buried at the 
public expense. 

There were various other ordinary magistrates ; some were 
appointed to judge slaves, and persons of the lowest rank; to 
take charge of the mint, to prevent fires, to walk round the 
watches in the night time, &c. 

Extraordinary Magistrates. — Of these the most important 
was the Dictator. The first creation of this arbitrary office 
was about nine years after the expulsion of Tarquin. It 
originated in the fear of domestic sedition, and a dangerous 
war from the Latins. As the authority of the consuls was not 
sufficiently respected on account of the liberty of appeal from 
them, it was judged proper, in dangerous conjunctures, to create 
a single magistrate with absolute power, from whom there 
should be no appeal, and who should not be restrained by the 
interposition of a colleague. He was not created, as the other 
magistrates, by the suffrages of the people, but one of the 
consuls, on some occasions by the authority of the Senate, 



f>4 HISTORICAL READER. 

on others, by the direction of the people, named as dictator 
whatever person of consular dignity he thought proper. 

The power of the dictator was supreme both in peace and 
war. He could raise and disband armies, and had power 
over the lives and fortunes of Roman citizens. When he was 
created, all the other magistrates, except the tribunes of the 
commons, abdicated their authority. The power continued 
only for the space of six months, although the business for 
which it was created was not finished; and it was never pro- 
longed beyond that time, except in extreme necessity, as in the 
case of Camillus. Sylla and Csesar, indeed, usurped the 
perpetual dictatorship in contempt of the laws of their country, 
which they professed so much to venerate. (The artful course 
of these demagogues should be continually held up before the 
eyes of a free people, as examples of the ambitious and selfish 
designs of those who stoop to court their favor by flattering 
their passions and prejudices, and making ultra professions of 
liberty. These unprincipled organs of sedition despise and 
secretly laugh at their dupes, and are eagerly waiting for an 
opportunity to advance themselves at their expense.) The 
principal check against the dictator's abuse of power was, that 
he might be called to an account for his conduct^ when he 
resigned his office, 

The Decemvirs, — C. Terentius Arsa, a tribune of the com- 
mons, proposed to the people, that a body of laws should be 
drawn up, to which all should be obliged to conform. This 
proposition was violently opposed by the Patricians, in whom 
the whole judicative power was vested, and to whom the 
knowledge of the few laws which then existed was confined. 
At last, however, it was determined by a decree of the Senate, 
and by the order of the people, that three ambassadors should 
be sent to Athens to copy the celebrated laws of Solon, and to 
examine the institutions, customs, and laws of the other States 
of Greece. Upon their return, ten men ? Dece?nviri 9 were 
created from among the Patricians, with supreme power, and 
without the liberty of appeal, to draw up a body of laws; all 
the other magistrates having first abdicated their office. 

The Decemviri, at first, behaved with great moderation* 
They administered justice to the people every tenth day* 
They proposed ten tables of laws, which were ratified at the 
Comitia Centuriata. As two other tables seemed to be want- 
ing, Decemviri were again created for another year to make 
them. But these new magistrates, acting tyrannically, and 
wishing to retain their command beyond the legal time 3 were 5 



HISTORICAL READER. 65 

at last, forced to resign ; the indignation of the people being 
now especially excited by the infamous conduct of Appius 
Claudius towards Virginia, a woman of Plebeian rank, who 
was slain by her father to prevent her falling into the Decem- 
vir's hands. The Decemviri all perished in prison or in 
banishment. But the laws of the Twelve Tables continued to 
be the rule and foundation of public and private right through 
the Roman world. They were engraved on brass, and fixed 
up in public ; and those, even in the time of Cicero, who 
applied to the study of jurisprudence, were obliged to commit 
them to memory. 

Provincial Magistrates. — After the empire was extended, 
and various countries reduced to the form of provinces, magis- 
trates were regularly sent from Rome to govern them, 
according to the law of Sempronius, which was passed 631., 
By this law, two provinces were consigned to the future 
consuls before their election. The office could be held only 
for one year. The praetors cast lots for their provinces. 
Bui sometimes these were assigned to both by the Senate or 
people. A certain number of lieutenants were appropriated 
to each pro-consul or pro-prsetor. In his province, the pro* 
consul had judicial authority and military command. He 
administered justice much in the same way as the praetor at 
Rome, according to the laws which had been prescribed to the 
province when first subdued, or according to the regulations 
which had afterwards been made concerning it by the Senate 
or people at Rome; and sometimes, according to his own 
edicts. He held assizes or courts of justice in the principal 
cities. He himself judged in all public and important causes ; 
but matters of less consequence, he referred to his quaestor or 
lieutenants. The governors were prohibited from using any 
other language than the Latin, in the functions of their office. 
Various laws were made to secure the just administration of 
the provinces, but these were insufficient to check the rapacity 
of the Roman magistrates ; and these conquered states were 
often grievously oppressed by their exactions. 



CHAPTER Vllf- 



FLINy's ACCOUNT OF HIS VILLA IN TUSCANY. 

# # # ]\fy v i{) a j s so advantageously situated, that it 
commands a full view of all the country rcund ; yet you go up 
to it by so insensible a rise, that you find yourself upon an 
elevation without perceiving your ascent. Behind, but at a 
great distance, stand the Appenine mountains. In the calmest 
days we are refreshed by the winds that blow thence, but so 
spent, as it were, by the long tract of land they travel over, 
that they are entirely divested of all their strength and violence 
before they reach us. . The exposition of the principal front 
of the house is full south, and seems to invite the afternoon sun 
in summer (but something earlier in winter) into a spacious 
and well proportioned portico, consisting of several members, 
particularly a porch built after the manner of the ancients. 

In the front of the portico is a sort of terrace, embellished 
with various figures, and bounded with a box-hedge, whence 
you descend by an easy slope, adorned with the representation 
of divers animals in box, answering alternately to each other, 
into a lawn overspread with the soft, I had almost said the 
liquid, acanthus: this is surrounded by a walk enclosed with 
donsile evergreens, shaped into a variety of forms. Beyond 
it is the gestatio, laid out in the form of a circus, ornamented 
in the middle with box cut into numberless different figures, 
together with a plantation of shrubs prevented by the shears 
from running up too high; the whole is fenced in with wall 
covered by box, rising by different ranges to the top. On. the 
outside of a wall lies a meadow, that owes as many beauties to 
nature as all I have been describing within does to art : at the 
end of which are several other meadows and fields interspersed 
with thickets. 

At the extremity of the portico stands a grand dining-room, 
which opens upon one end of the terrace; as from the windows 
there is a very extensive prospect over the meadow, up into 
the country, whence you also have a view of the terrace, and 



HISTORICAL READER. 67 

such parts of the house which project forward, together with 
the woods enclosing the adjacent hippodrome. Opposite almost 
to the centre of the portico stands an apartment something 
backwards, which encompasses a small area shaded by four 
plane trees; in the midst of which a fountain rises, whence the 
water running over the edges of a marble basin, gently re- 
freshes the surrounding plane trees, and the verdure underneath 
them. This apartment consists of a bed-chamber free from 
every kind of noise, and which the light itself cannot penetrate; 
together with a common dining-room, that I use whenever I 
have none but familiar friends with me. A second portico 
looks upon this lirtle area, and has the same prospect with the 
former I just now described. There is besides another, which, 
being situated close to the nearest plane tree, enjoys a constant 
shade and verdure : its sides are incrusted halfway with carved 
marble, and thence to the ceiling a foliage is painted with birds 
intermingled among the branches, which has an effect alto- 
gether as agreeable as that of the carving ; at the basis of 
which is placed a Utile fountain, that, playing through several 
small pipes into a vase, produces a most pleasing murmur. 

From the corner of a portico you enter into a very spacious 
chamber opposite to the grand dining-room, which, from some 
of its windows, has a view of the terrace, and from others of 
the meadow, as those in the front look upon a cascade, which 
entertains at once both the eye and the ear : for the water 
falling from a great height, foams round the marble basin 
which receives it below. This room is extremely warm in 
winter, being much exposed to the sun, as in a cloudy day the 
heat of an adjoining stove very well supplies his absence. 
Hence you pass through a spacious and pleasant undressing- 
room into the cold-bath room, in which is a large gloomy 
bath : but if you are disposed to swim more at large, or in 
warmer water, in the middle of the area is a wide basin for 
that purpose, and near it a reservoir, whence you may be sup- 
plied with cold water, to brace yourself again, if you should 
perceive you are too much relaxed by the warm. Contiguous 
to the cold bath is one of a middling degree of heat, which 
enjoys the kindly warmth of the sun, but not so intensely as 
that of the hot bath, which projects farther. This last con- 
sists of three several divisions, each of different degrees of 
heat ; the two former lie open to the full sun; the latter, though 
not so much exposed to its heat, receives an equal share of 
its light. Over the undressing room is built the tennis-court, 
which, by means of different circles, admits of different kinds 
of games. 



6$ HISTORICAL READER. 

Not far from the baths, is the staircase which leads to the 
enclosed portico, after having first passed through three apart- 
ments: one of these looks upon the little area with the four 
plane trees round it, the other has a sight of the meadows, and 
from the third you have a view of several vineyards : so that 
they have as many different prospects as expositions. At one 
end of the enclosed portico, and indeed taken off from it, is a 
chamber that looks upon the hippodrome, the vineyards, and 
the mountains; adjoining is a room which has a full exposure 
to the sun, especially in winter : hence. runs an apartment that 
connects the hippodrome with the house: and such is the form 
and aspect of the front. On the side is a summer-enclosed- 
portico, which stands high, and has not only a prospect of the 
vineyards, but seems almost to touch them. From the middle 
of this portico you enter a dining-room, cooled by the whole- 
some breezes which come from the Appenine valleys : from the 
windows in the back front, which are extremely large, there is 
a prospect of the vineyards, as you have also another view of 
them from the folding doors through the summer portico ; along 
that side of this dining-room, where there are no windows, 
runs a private staircase for the greater conveniency of serving 
at entertainments: ai the further end is a chamber, whence 
the eye is entertained with a view of the vineyards, and, what 
is equally agreeable, of the porticos. Underneath this room' 
is an enclosed portico something resembling a grotto, which 
enjoying, in the midst of summer heats, its own natural cool- 
ness, neither admits nor wants the refreshment of external 
breezes. After you have passed both these porticos, at the 
end of the dining room stands a third, which, as the day is 
more or less advanced, serves either for winter or summer use. 
It leads to two different apartments, one containing four 
chambers, the other three, which enjoy by turns both sun and 
shade. 

In the front of these agreeable buildings lies a very spacious 
hippodrome, entirely open in the middle; by which means the 
eye, upon your first entrance, takes in its whole extent at one 
view. It is encompassed on every side with plane trees 
covered with ivy ; so that while their heads flourish with their 
own green, their bodies enjoy a borrowed verdure, and thus 
the ivy, twining round the trunk and branches, sp.reads from 
tree to tree, and connects them together. Between each plane 
tree are planted box trees, and behind them, bay trees, which 
blend their shade with that of the planes. This plantation, 
forming a straight boundary on both sides of the hippodrome^ 



HISTORICAL READER. 69 

bends at the farther end into a semi-circle, which being set 
round and sheltered with cypress trees, varies the prospect, 
and casts a deeper and more gloomy shade ; while the inward 
circular walks, for there are several, enjoying an open expo- 
sure, are perfumed with roses, and correct, by a very pleasing 
contrast, the coolness of the shade with the warmth of the 
sun. Having passed through these several winding alleys* 
you enter a straight walk, which breaks out into a variety of 
others, divided off by box hedges. In one place you have a 
little meadow; in another, the box is cut into a thousand 
different forms; sometimes into letters, expressing the name of 
the master, sometimes that of the artificer, whilst here and 
there little obelisks rise intermixed alternately with fruit trees : 
when on a sudden, in the midst of this elegant regularity, you 
are surprised With an imitation of the negligent beauties of 
rural nature; in the centre of which lies a spot surrounded 
with a knot of dwarf plane trees. 

Beyond there is a walk interspersed with the smooth and 
twining acanthus, where the trees are also cut into a variety 
of names and shapes. At the upper end is an alcove of white 
marble, shaded with vines, supported by four small Carystian 
pillars. From this bench the water gushing through several 
little pipes, as if it were pressed out by the weight of the persons 
who repose themselves upon it, falls into a stone cistern under 
neath, whence it is received into a fine polished marble basin 3 
so artfully contrived, that it is always full without over flowing. 
When I sup here, this basin serves for a table, the larger sort 
of dishes being placed round the margin, while the smaller ones 
swim about in the form of little vessels, and water-fowL 
Corresponding to this, is a fountain which is incessantly 
emptying and filling ; for the water, which it throws up a great 
height, falling back again into it, is, by means of two open- 
ings, returned as fast as it is received. Fronting the alcove, 
and which reflects as great an ornament on it, as it borrows 
from it, stands a summer house of exquisite marble, whose 
doors project and open into a green enclosure ; as from its 
upper and lower windows the eye is presented with a variety 
of different verdures. 

Next to this is a little private closet, which, though it seems 
distinct, may be laid into the same room, furnished with a 
couch ; and notwithstanding it has windows on every side, 
yet it enjoys a very agreeable gloominess, by means of a 
spreading vine, which climbs to the top, and entirely over- 
shades it. Heie you may lie and fancy yourself in a wood. 



70 HISTORICAL READER. 

with this difference only, that you are not exposed to the 
weather : in this place a fountain also rises, and instantly 
disappears : in different quarters are disposed several marble 
seats, which serve, as well as the summer house, as so many 
reliefs after one is wearied with walking. Near each seat is a 
little fountain; and throughout the whole hippodrome, several 
small rills run murmuring along, wheresoever the hand of art 
thought proper to conduct them, watering here and there dif- 
ferent spots of verdure, and in their progress refreshing the 
whole. * # # 



CHAPTER IX, 



ABSTRACT OF THE HISTORY OF THE KINGS OF HOME* 

Italy was anciently inhabited by various tribes; the nort'fj 
by the Gauls, and the south by different colonies from Greece, 
The first king of whom we read was Janus. In his time 
Saturn, having been expelled from Crete by his son Jupiter? 
after wandering through different countries, came into Italy, 
where he was hospitably received, and admitted to a share 
of the kingdom. His just government and wise institutions 
gave occasion to the fable of the Golden Age, and from him 
the country was called Saturnia. About sixty years before 
the Trojan war, Evander brought into Latium a colony of 
Arcadians. Hercules came into Italy in the time of F^vander, 
after his conquest of Geryon in Spain, and left behind him a 
number of followers of Trojan and Grecian extraction. After 
the destruction of Troy, 1183 before Christ, Antenor with a 
multitude from Paphlagonia, settled at the top of the Hadriatic 
Gulf. Diomedes, a Grecian hero, settled in Apulia ; and a 
colony of Lydians in Umbria. But the most celebrated of 
all these foreigners was ./Eneas, the son of Anchises and 
Venus, who, after the destruction of Troy, celebrated by 
Homer in his Iliad, landed near the mouth of the Tiber. 
Virgil, in his inimitably beautiful poem, represents Dido, who 
founded Carthage, contemporary with his hero — an anachron- 
ism admitted for the sake of poetical embellishment. Latinus, 
king of Latium, gave him his daughter Lavinia in marriage. 
Turnus, the disappointed suitor, waged an unsuccessful war. 
Ascanius or lulus, the son of iEneas, succeeded to the throne, 
and built a new city, called Longa Alba. The Alban kings 
reigned 400 years. 

Romulus and Remus, twin brothers, are said to have been 
cast into the Tiber in a basket, miraculously preserved, and 
suckled by a wolf; to have been brought up by a shepherd; to 
have discovered marks of their noble origin by their dauntless 
exploits, and to have been recognized by their grandfather. 



72 HISTORICAL READER. 

Nurnitor, whom bis brother Amulius had supplanted. Restored 
to their rights, they resolved to build a city where they had 
"been brought up; but, a dispute arising respecting the inter- 
pretation of the omens, Remus was slain. The common story 
is, that having in derision leapt over the new walls, his brother 
struck him to the heart with a dagger, saying, "So perish all 
that shall dare to insult the walls of Rome." The city was 
built 753 B. C. The neighboring states refusing an alliance 
with the Romans, stratagem and violence were used. A 
festival was proclaimed in honor of Neptune; and while the 
strangers, who had flocked from the neighboring towns, were 
Intent on the spectacle, the Roman youth, upon a given signal, 
carried oft the young Sabine women. A fierce war ensued. 
At length the women, reconciled to their condition, rushed out 
<oftheeity, placed themselyes between the two armies, and 
entreated their fathers no!-. to -kill their husbands, and their 
husbands not to. kill their fathers. By their intercession a peace 
was made, and the Sabines and Romans became one people. 
Romulus prosecuted with success his military enterprises, and 
subdued many of the neighboring cities, which formed separate 
and independent states. Having reigned thirty-seven years, 
fie suddenly disappeared. It was said, that he was taken up 
to heaven; but the Senate, whom he treated with disrespect, 
are supposed to have murdered him. He was worshipped as 
a god, after his death, under the name of Quirinus. 

Displeased with the constant state of war in. which they had 
been kept, Numa, a Sabine philosopher, who had been a pupil 
of Pythagoras, one of the most famous of the Greek philoso- 
phers, was elected. During his pacific reign, which lasted 
forty-three years, the sword was never drawn. He endea- 
vored to soften the ferocity of the Romans . by a sense of 
religion, and by laws. He had some knowledge of astronomy, 
which he evinced by reforming the calendar, making the year 
which was only 304 days before, to consist of 355 days. 

The people,. weary of the inactivity of peace, chose for their 
third king, Tullius Hostilius, a man of martial spirit. His first 
war was with the Albans. When the armies of both states 
were ready to engage, it was agreed, that as they were 
kindred tribes, a general effusion of blood should be avoided 
by selecting three champions from each army, to determine 
the claim of superiority. The Romans chose three brothers 
of the name of Horatii, and the Albans three of one fami- 
ly, called the Curatii. Two of the Romans fell ; the three 
Albans were wounded. The surviving Roman fled that he 



HISTORICAL READER. 73 

might separate his opponents, and he struck down each singly 
as he pursued, and then the Albans laid down their arms. 

The ferocious character of the times appears in the conduct 
of the victor. Returning home in triumphal procession, 
wearing among the spoils a scarf which his sister had worked 
for her lover, one of the Curatii, he stabbed her to the heart, 
as she was bitterly lamenting the fate of her betrothed. The 
Albans endeavored treacherously to recover their indepen- 
dence ; but their general was detected, seized, instantly tied to 
two carriages, and torn in pieces. Alba was destroyed, and 
the inhabitants brought to Rome. 

Ancus Martius, the grandson of Numa, succeeded to the 
throne, and considerably extended the Roman territory. He 
reigned twenty-four years. 

Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of Rome, obtained the 
crown by means of his wealth and superior attainments. On 
the day of election, having induced the sons of Ancus to go 
forth to hunt wild beasts, he, in a studied speech, set forth his 
claims to the crown with so much address, that the people 
unanimously conferred it upon him; and to strengthen his 
interest, he chose a hundred new Senators. He was the son 
of a Greek, and brought with him into Rome arts unknown 
before. He adorned the city with public buildings, and 
enclosed it with a wall. He was engaged in several success- 
ful wars, and reigned thirty-eight years. 

Servius Tullius, the sixth king of Rome, was, like Numa, a 
legislator, and made many important changes in the constitu- 
tion. He increased the power of the Senate, and abridged 
the privileges of the people; but seems, at last, to have fallen 
a sacrifice to the jealousy of the nobility, whom he offended 
by distributing among the people the lands taken from the 
enemy. A conspiracy was formed, at the head of which was 
Tarquin, his son-in-law, andson or grandson of the late king. 
He, attended by a guard of" armed men, drest in the royal 
robes, and accompanied by many of the Senators, placed 
himself on the king's seat. Servius, coming into the Senate- 
house, and attempting to pull the usurper from his throne, was 
violently pushed down, and assassinated on his way to his own 
house. And it is said, that Tullia, his daughter, and wife of 
Tarquin, drove her carriage over the dead body of her father 
lying in the street. 

Tarquinius Superbus, having obtained the sovereignty by 
force, feared to call together the constitutional assemblies, and 
governed by his own authority only. His reign was one 

7 



74 HISTORICAL READER. 

continued scene of cruelty and violence. The people, at 
length, were roused to vindicate their rights by his brutal 
conduct to Lucretia ; and under the able and vigorous direction 
of L. J. Brutus, who, to save his life, had been obliged to 
counterfeit the character of an idiot, drove the tyrant from the 
throne, and established a republican form of government. 
Tarquin reigned twenty-five years. The regal government 
had existed two hundred and forty-five years. 



CHAPTER Xc 



ABSTRACT OF THE HISTORY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC. 

After the expulsion of Tarquin, two supreme magistrates, 
called Consuls, were elected. A conspiracy was formed by a 
number of profligate young men for the restoration of the 
tyrant; and the two sons of Brutus were among the conspira- 
tors. They all bound themselves by solemn oaths, with the 
dreadful ceremony of drinking the blood of a murdered man, 
-and touching his entrails. Their plot was discovered by a 
slave. The prisoners were brought before the tribunal of 
justice on which Brutus and his colleague sat. The proof 
being clear, the prisoners stood silent, and pleaded only by 
their tears. " Titus and Tiberius," said the unflinching pa- 
triot, " what have you to offer in your defence? " They were 
thrice called upon to plead, but tears were still their only 
answer. The major part of the Senators were touched with 
deep compassion, and a low murmur was heard, "Banish 
them, banish them." All the people stood trembling in 
expectation of the sentence. Brutus, at length, rose, and 
with a steady voice said, "Lictors, I deliver them over to you ; 
the rest is your part." At these words the whole assembly 
shrieked; the consternation was inexpressible; but neither 
the intercessions of the people, nor the bitter lamentations of 
the young men, who called upon their father by the most 
endearing names, could soften the inflexible judge. The lic- 
tors seized the criminals, beat them with rods, and then struck 
off their heads; Brutus all the time gazing on the dreadful 
spectacle with a steady look and a composed countenance. 
As soon as the execution was over, he quitted the tribunal, 
and left his colleague to discharge his duty. 

Tarquin induced Porsena, king of Clusium, to march an 
army to Rome, which would have taken the city, had not Hora- 
tius Codes, animated by that intrepid bravery which only 
liberty can inspire, supported by two others, defended the 
narrow entrance of the bridge against the whole of Porsena's 



76 HISTORICAL READER. 

army, till the bridge was broken down. He th6n leapt into 
the river, and swam over safe to his admiring friends, amidst 
the darts of the enemy. 

The city being besieged, and reduced to great distress from a 
scarcity of provisions, C. Mucius resolved to penetrate into the 
enemy's camp in disguise, and assassinate Porsena. He 
entered the royal tent, and seeing the king's secretary magni- 
ficently dressed, and sitting in the same tribunal with his 
master, laid him dead at his feet by mistake. Being threat- 
ened with torture unless he made a full discovery, he thrust 
his right hand into a fire which was burning on the altar before 
him, and let it broil without any apparent emotion; and told 
the king that three hundred young Romans as resolute as he, 
had taken a common oath to rid their country of Porsena. 
This dauntless spirit so much impressed the king, that he 
dismissed Mucius, and made proposals of peace. 

Clsslia, one of the hostages on the occasion, having deceived 
her keepers, swam over the Tiber at the head of her com- 
panions, amidst the darts of the enemy, and restored them all 
safe to their relations. Porsena demanded the restoration of 
Clselia, but, impressed with admiration of her conduct, not 
only restored her to her family, but gave her permission to 
take back with her half the hostages. 

B. C. 488. Under the brave conduct of C. Marius, the city 
of Corioli was taken ; and he obtained, in consequence, the 
name of Coriolanus. His aristocratic principles have already 
been mentioned in the account of the Tribunes. The people 
threatened to throw him from the Tarpeian rock for proposing 
that no corn should be given them unless they abolished the 
Tribunitial office, and gave up other rights, which they had, 
with great difficulty, obtained from the Patricians. Not 
appearing on the day of trial, he was justly sentenced to 
perpetual banishment. The enemy of the liberties of Rome 
acted the part of a traitor, joined the Volscians, took a great 
many towns from the Romans, and threatened Rome with 
destruction. Haughtily refusing to listen to a solemn embassy 
from his country, his wife and mother accompanied a second 
deputation, and presenting to him his infant child, whom by 
his conduct he was devoting to ruin, his parent entreated him, 
a not to force her to curse the hour in which she had given 
him birth." Coriolanus was melted, and rushing up to her, 
exclaimed, "Oh, mother, thou hast saved Rome, but thou hast 
destroyed thy son." By virtue of his authority as genera^ he 



HISTORICAL READER. 77 

drew off the army, and returned to Antium, where he was 
murdered by the Volscians. 

The history of Rome during this period furnishes few inci- 
dents that merit our attention. The mind can derive neither 
improvement nor satisfaction from a recital of murderous and 
aggressive wars. The struggles of the people at this time to 
maintain their rights, cannot, however, be passed over without 
notice. The Patricians were incessantly active in their endea- 
vors to reduce the people to a state of subjection to their inso- 
lent authority, and not unfrequently, by flattery and bribery, 
they seduced the tribunes to betray their sacred trust. Various 
commotions were excited by renewed propositions for Agrarian 
Laws, or laws relating to the division and distribution of lands. 
That called the Agrarian Law, by way of eminence, was pub- 
lished by Spurius Cassius, in the year of Rome 268, for 
dividing the conquered lands equally among all the citizens, 
and limiting the number of acres which each citizen might 
enjoy. Spurius Cassius, a distinguished patriot of high rank, 
a man entitled to no common meed of praise, and whose 
character all the friends of liberty will ever venerate, repre- 
sented to the people, " that they had gained but half the 
advantage to which they were entitled, if in addition to the 
abolition of debts, they did not resume for their own benefit 
the lands which had fraudulently come into the possession 
of the great. Rome, at the beginning, had been peopled by 
citizens, who had none of them any advantage of wealth 
one over another ; he did not insist upon restoring them to 
their original state of equality ; he would allow to industry 
the superiority which it naturally acquires over indolence and 
prodigality; but it was only just, that property acquired by 
notorious fraud and deception, should be refunded." 

The lands taken from their enemies were by law appointed 
to be disposed of for the benefit of the Republic; and it was the 
custom to sell a part to defray the expense of the war, to dis- 
tribute a part gratis amongst the poorest citizens, and to let a 
part of it at low rent to citizens, who were not altogether 
destitute, but whose means were not sufficient for the rearing 
of their families. 

Nothing could appear more just than this; but it proved 
otherwise on the experiment; The lands which were sold, 
the rich contrived should be sold to them at an under price; 
the lands which were let, they hired under feigned names; 
and the lands given to the poorer citizens, they for the most 

part got into their possession by loans and usury ; so that the 

7* 



78 HISTORICAL READER. 

territories added to the Roman state, seemed only to increase 
the wealth of the rich, without relieving the destitute. The 
nobility, on this important occasion, combined in zealous 
hostility to the proposition of Cassius, and, at length by every 
means which power and wealth afforded, they prevailed on the 
deluded people, by basely impugning the motives of the patriot, 
to veto this law, and actually persuaded them, that he wished 
to destroy the liberties of his country, and become king of 
Rome. Abhorring the idea of changing their republican form 
of government, they indignantly cast their best friend from the 
Tarpeian rock. How many examples does not history afford 
of the mad delusion of the people, in murdering or banishing 
the ardent and disinterested advocates of popular rights ! Hur- 
ried on by the impetuosity of passion and prejudice, artfully 
excited by hireling writers or declaimers, they ignorantly 
sacrifice on the altar of liberty men whose effigies deserve a 
choice place in her temple. 

In the year of the city 296, Cincinnatus, who had reduced 
himself to poverty by paying the sureties for his son, was made 
Dictator- — the Roman army being blocked up in a defile by the 
iEqui. By his energy and ability the Consul was soon reliev- 
ed: he returned to Rome in triumph, and resigned his high 
office on the sixteenth day after his appointment. About 
twenty years afterwards, he was again appointed Dictator to 
quell the seditious movement of Mselius, who seems to have 
taken measures to subvert the government. On this occasion, 
the multitude warmly espoused the cause of their pretended 
friend, but real enemy, and rescued him out of the lictor's 
hands. He was pursued, overtaken, and put to death ; and his 
house was levelled to the ground. 

In the year of Rome 350, the Romans laid siege to Veii, 
one o£the free cities of Etruria — a country celebrated for its 
learning and refinement. It contained twelve cities, each 
governing itself, but all bound together by ties of affinity and 
alliance. It was taken after a ten years' siege, under the 
dictatorship of Camillus, a man of great merit, who was five 
times appointed Dictator. He extended a mine into the midst 
of the city. It is said, that the principal persons of the city 
were engaged at the altar, when, the soothsayers having 
examined the dying victim, and pronounced, "he that finishes 
this sacrifice, shall be the conqueror," the Roman miners forced 
up part of the pavement of the temple, and fulfilled the pre- 
diction. Camillus, two years afterwards, as one of the mili- 
tary tribunes, marched against the Falisci, who surrendered 



HISTORICAL READER. 79 

their town on a very memorable occasion. A schoolmaster 
of great repute, who had the charge of the children of the 
most eminent citizens, led his pupils one day to the first 
sentinels of the Roman camp, and had an interview with the 
general. He told Camillus, "that he had now the good 
fortune to offer a signal service to the Roman state, by placing 
in his hands the most distinguished youth of the Falisci, an 
advantage which, if he thought proper to improve, would 
instantly place the town at his mercy." Camillus regarded 
the wretch with indignation ; and said, " Villain that thou art, 
know that thou dost not present thyself before a general or a 
nation framed in the same mould that thou art : there are laws 
of war, as well as laws of peace; and those laws forbid me to 
molest or detain these unarmed youth ; they were trusted to 
thy honor; thou hast sought to make them victims of thy 
treachery." By order of the Roman general, the traitor was 
stripped, his hands were bound behind him, and the youths 
with rods beat him back into the town. The Falisci beheld 
the procession with astonishment, and sent an embassy to 
Camillus to surrender the town ; saying, "they could have held 
out against his prowess and his generalship, but they were 
incapable of fighting against so much magnanimity and 
virtue." 

This great man's prejudices in favor of his own order, seem 
to have imparted somewhat of the haughty spirit of Coriolanus 
towards the Plebeians; and they, keenly resenting the indignity 
of his carriage, too easily listened to a base accusation of an 
illegal impropriation of the plunder of Veii. Convinced 
that he should be condemned, he went into voluntary exile, 
but not like Coriolanus to his enemies. He could not, how- 
ever, refrain from a prayer, "that his countrymen might 
speedily repent of their wrong, and have occasion to call for 
his assistance." His prayer was soon fulfilled. The Gauls 
(one of the bravest nations in the world, of whom it was said 
at Rome, "with other nations we struggle for victory; with 
the Gauls for existence") under Brennus, being requested by 
the Romans to desist from making war on the allies of the 
Roman people, replied fiercely, "that they carried their right in 
their arms ; " and resenting the hostile interference of the 
Roman deputation, sent messengers to Rome to demand that 
the Fabii, the ambassadors, should be delivered up to them. 
Receiving a refusal, Brennus immediately marched towards 
Rome, gained a complete victory, and entered the city without 
any farther opposition. He found the streets empty. The 



80 HISTORICAL HEADER. 

multitude of citizens had fled ; those most capable of making 
an obstinate resistance had taken possession of the Capitol, 
but many of the old Senators, attired in their robes of cere- 
mony, seated themselves in the vestibules of their houses iu 
their curule chairs, which were ornamented with ivory. The 
Gauls were struck with awe at their majestic appearance, and 
gazed at them, as if they had been images. At length a 
soldier lifted up his hand, and ventured to stroke the silver 
beard of a Senator. Indignant at this conduct, he struck the 
barbarian on the head with his ivory staff of office. This 
rash act led to a general massacre ; the city was set on fire, 
and the walls of Rome laid level with the earth. B. C. 388. 

The Capitol was now besieged, and would have been taken 
by a select party, ordered to scale the walls at midnight, had 
not some geese, consecrated to Juno, awoke the garrison by 
their incessant cackling. Marcus Manlius cast down the 
Gaul, who had already ascended the fortress, and thus the 
garrison was preserved to be delivered by the brave Camilius, 
who, having collected forty thousand soldiers, totally defeated 
the barbarians. Camilius died full of years and glory ; but 
Manlius, intoxicated with the honors he received, courted 
popularity, aimed at sovereign power, and ignominiously 
expired at the base of the Tarpeian rock. 



CHAPTER XI; 



PYRRHUS AND FABRICIUS. 



Passing over more than a hundred years, during which 
the Romans had subdued the greatest part of Italy, we come 
to their first war with a foreign enemy, B. C. 279. Pyrrhus., 
king of Epirus, was invited by the Tarentines to assist them 
in their unequal contest with the Romans. Rome had now 
become an object of attention and importance to Greece; but, 
before this time, the splendid period of Greece had passed 
away ; her poets and historians, her painters and sculptors., 
that surpassed all other ages and countries, were no more. 
Alexander the Great, (far more great than good,) king of 
Macedon, had extinguished the last remains of her liberty, and 
sacrificed to his ambition the independence of those little states^ 
which made her the wonder of the world. Greece was in her 
old age after the death of Alexander, (that capricious tyrant 
who murdered his best friends,) but still it was a venerable 
old age, in which might be seen the traces of her former 
majesty. Pyrrhus was the most accomplished and magnani- 
mous of the princes who, upon the demise of Alexander, divi- 
ded his extensive conquests amongst them. His possessions 
were small, though his ambition was unbounded : and he 
willingly accepted the invitation of the Grecian states of Italy, 
to come and lend them his aid, to resist the formidable hostility 
of the Romans. 

On the banks of the Liris, Pyrrhus first came in sight of 
the Roman army, and exclaimed, on observing the order of 
the troops, the appointment of the watches, and the whole 
method of their encampment, "Among these barbarians, (for 
such the Greeks styled every nation but their own,) I discern 
nothing barbarous in their discipline." The Grecian phalanx 
encountered the Roman legion. Seven times the Romans 
were repulsed, and seven times they returned to the attack* 
At length, the sight of the elephants, animals which the Ro- 
mans had never seen before, driven into their ranks, terrified 



82 HISTORICAL READER. 

the men, no less than the horses, and threw the army into 
confusion. Fifteen thousand Romans were left on the field of 
battle, and thirteen thousand Greeks were slain. Pyrrhus, 
on being congratulated by his courtiers, replied coldly, 
"Another such victory, and I shall be ruined." The Ro- 
mans defeated, not subdued, rejected every proposal of peace 
on any other condition than that of withdrawing every foreign 
soldier from Italy. Cineas, his ambassador, unsuccessful in 
all his attempts to bribe the Senators and their wives, returned 
to his master, and said, "that the Senate appeared to him an 
assembly of demi-gods, the meanest of whom was worthy to 
be a king." 

The character of Fabricius shone forth with pre-eminent 
lustre during this war. His magnanimity excited the admi- 
ration and astonishment of the Grecian king, who used every 
means in his power to corrupt his fidelity. All his splendid 
offers were refused with contempt. The king having urged 
that his poverty was unsuitable to his distinguished merit, 
Fabricius replied, " You have indeed been rightly informed of 
my poverty. My whole estate consists in a house but of mean 
appearance, and a little spot of ground, from which by my 
own labor, I derive my support. But if, by any means, you 
have been persuaded to think, that this poverty makes me less 
considered in my country, or, in any degree unhappy, you 
are extremely deceived. I have no reason to complain of 
fortune. She supplies me with all that nature requires, and if 
I am without superfluities, I am also free from the desire of 
them. With these, I confess, I should be able to succor 
the necessitous, the only advantage for which the wealthy are 
to be envied ; but as small as my possessions are, / can still 
contribute something to the support of the State, and the 
assistance of my friends. With regard to honor, my country 
places me, poor as I am, upon a level with the richest; for 
Rome knows no qualifications for great employments, but 
virtue and ability. She appoints me to officiate in the most 
august ceremonies of religion ; she entrusts me with the com- 
mand of her armies : she confides to my care the most impor- 
tant negotiations; my poverty does not lessen the weight and 
influence of my counsels in the Senate ; the Roman people 
honor me for that very poverty which you consider as a dis- 
grace ; they know the many opportunities I have had in war, 
to enrich myself without incurring censure; they are convinced 
of my disinterested zeal for their prosperity ; and if I have 
any thing to complain of in the return they make me, it is only 



HISTORICAL READER. 83 

the excess of their applause. What value, then, can I set on 
your gold and silver? What king can add any thing to my 
fortune? Always attentive to discharge the duties incumbent 
on me, I have a mind free from self reproach , and I have an 
honest fame ." 

In the following year, Fabricius was chosen one of the 
consuls, and soon, another occasion was presented to illus- 
trate the nobleness of his spirit. While the two armies were 
watching each other, Fabricius received a letter from Nicias, 
the king's principal physician, offering for a certain reward 
to take off his master by poison, and thus end the war. 
The temptation was great, as the lives of many valuable 
citizens would be saved, and Rome, at once, delivered from 
her most formidable enemies. But Fabricius, though he 
loved Rome much, loved virtue more, instantly, acting from 
a high sense of moral principle, which will never entertain 
the sentiment, that a great apparent good may justify sinful 
means of accomplishing jt, sent the letter to the king, stating, 
" You will find by this letter which was sent to us, that you 
are at war with men of virtue and honor, and trust knaves and 
villains." Pyrrhus, after he had read the letter, expressed in 
the strongest terms his admiration of this generous conduct 
and said, " It is easier to divert the sun from his course, than 
to turn Fabricius from the path of justice." Pyrrhus to ex- 
press his gratitude, immediately set all the Roman prisoners 
free, without ransom; and Rome, too generous to accept a 
reward for not consenting to an execrable deed, in return, 
released an equal number of Samnite and Tarentine pri- 
soners. 

After the departure of Pyrrhus, who had been two years 
and four months in Italy, Fabricius gained a victory over the 
combined forces of the Samnites, Lucani and Bruttii, for 
which he was honored with a triumph. But the unanimous 
acknowledgement of his countrymen, that he had vanquished 
Pyrrhus more by his integrity than by his valor, was more 
glorious than any triumph. 

Wishing to inspire among the people a contempt of luxury 
and useless ornaments, so inconsistent with republican simpli- 
city and equality, he banished, during his censorship, from the 
Senate Cornelius Rufinus, who had been twice consul and 
dictator, because he kept in his house more than ten pounds' 
weight of silver plate. Fabricius lived and died in the great- 
est poverty. His body was buried at the public charge. 

"Great in his triumph, in retirement great." 



CHAPTER XII. 



FIRST PUNIC WAR. 



The Romans having subdued Italy, engaged in war with 
the Carthaginians. B. C. 263. This first war lasted twenty- 
four years. Carthage was a populous and flourishing city of 
the northern coast of Africa, that was indebted to navigation 
and commerce for its prosperity. Imitating the example of 
its parent state, it rose to eminence and power by means similar 
to those of the Tyrians, a people highly celebrated in the time 
of Solomon. The Republic of Carthage flourished 737 years ; 
the time of its great glory was under Amilcar and Hannibal. 
During the first Punic war, the city contained no less than 
700,000 inhabitants. The government of Carthage was com- 
posed of three different authorities ; the authority of the two 
supreme magistrates called Suffetes, judges, that of the Senate, 
and that of the Assembly of the people. To these were after- 
wards added the council of the hundred. The SufTetes were 
annual magistrates, and their authority resembled that of the 
Roman consuls. By ancient writers, they are frequently styled 
kings, dictators, consuls. We are not informed of the manner 
of their election. Their office was to convene the Senate, to 
preside in this assembly, propose matters for debate, and collect 
the voices. They also sat as chief justices in private causes 
of importance. Nor was their authority confined to civil 
affairs, for they sometimes commanded the armies. The 
number of which the Senate consisted is not known; it must 
have been considerable, .since a hundred persons were selected 
from it to form a council. In the Senate all public affairs 
were debated, the letters from the generals read, the complaints 
from the provinces heard, ambassadors admitted to audience, 
and peace and war determined. When the Senators were 
unanimous, there lay no appeal from their decision ; but 
whenever they were divided in opinion, the affair devolved to 
the people, the extent of whose authority is not known. In 
the early part of the Republic the chief administration of public 



HISTORICAL READER. 85 

affairs was left to the Senate; but at a later period, the people 
seem to have obtained almost the whole power of the State. 

The religion of the Carthaginians was derived from the 
Phoenicians. Their principal deity was Saturn, and to him 
human sacrifices were offered. Diodorus Siculus says, that, 
"Being grievously afflicted in consequence of a remarkable 
defeat by the Sicilians under Agathocles, '(about 280 years 
before Christ,) they were humbled with a penitential con- 
viction of their neglect of some of the gods, who had, they 
imagined, brought upon them this miserable misfortune. 
They thought that Hercules, the tutelar god of their country, 
was angry with them, and they sent an immense sum of 
money, aud many other rich gifts to Tyre. They used in 
former ages to send a tenth part of all their revenues to this 
god. But afterwards, when they were grown wealthy, they 
contributed a much smaller proportion to their deity. They 
sent likewise, out of their temples to the images, golden shrines. 
They gave just cause, also, to their god Saturn, to be their 
enemy ; for, in the early period of their republic, they used to 
sacrifice to this god the sons of the most eminent persons ; in 
latter times they secretly bought and reared children for this 
purpose : and upon strict search being made, there were found 
amongst them that were to be sacrificed, some children that 
had been changed, and put in the place of others. Seriously 
considering these things, whilst the enemy was before their 
walls j they were seized with such a pang of superstition, as 
if they had utterly forsaken the religion of their fathers. That 
they might, therefore, without delay reform what was amiss, they 
offered as a public sacrifice two hundred of the sons of the nobi- 
lity; and, no fewer than three hundred more, who were liable 
to censure, voluntarily expiated their impiety by yielding them- 
selves up victims on the public altar." There was a brazen 
statue of Saturn Represented putting forth the palms of his hands, 
and bending in such a manner towards the earth, as that the boy 
who was laid upon them, in order to be sacrificed, should slip 
off, and fall down headlong into a deep fiery furnace. 

" First Moloch, horrid king, besmeared with blood 
Of human sacrifice, and parents' tears, 
Though for the noise of drums and timbrels loud 
Their children's cries unheard, that pass'd through fire 
To his grim idol. 

And Astoreth, whom the Phoenicians called 
Astarte, queen of Heaven, with crescent horns ; 
To whose bright image nightly by the moon 
Sardinian virgins paid their vows and songs." 

8 



86 HISTORICAL READER. 

The Carthaginian superstition was not confined to these 
deities; but they adopted those of other nations, as Jupiter, 
Apollo, Mars, &c; and worshipped the fire, and the air, and 
had gods of the rivers and mountains. In the middle of the 
city stood the citadel of Brysa, having on the top of it a 
splendid temple consecrated to Escujapius. 

The character of the Carthaginians, if we credit their 
jealous and implacable enemies the Romans, was notoriously 
faithless; but, when we consider the disingenuous and vin- 
dictive terms by which even Christian writers characterize the 
people with whom they are at war, we shall not form our 
opinion of a whole nation from the ironical use of the common 
phrase, " Punic faith." 

The contest between Carthage and Rome was apparently 
very unequal. Carthage at this time was devoted to luxury 
and commerce; Rome to war, frugality, and self-denial. 
The Romans fought their own battles ; the Carthaginians 
hired mercenaries to fight for them. But Carthage, in ex- 
tent of empire and revenues, was much superior to Rome. 
She had immense fleets and the sovereignty of the sea, when 
Rome could not boast of a single ship. The struggle lasted 
sixty-three years, from the commencement of the first Cartha- 
ginian war to the battle of Zama. The Romans made sensible 
of the necessity of contending with their enemies on their 
favorite element, used a Carthaginian vessel, which was 
wrecked on the coast of Italy, as a model, and, in a very 
short time, this ingenious and indefatigable people built a 
hundred and twenty boats, for such they may be called, when 
compared with the floating castles of modern times. They 
invented the grappling iron, which enabled the crews to fight 
nearly in the same manner as on land. Thus equipped, the 
consul Duillius sailed in search of the Carthaginians, and in 
the first naval battle ever fought between these rival nations, 
the Africans were defeated, with the loss of fifty of their 
ships. 

After repeated successes on the part of Rome, the Republic 
at length formed the determination of invading Africa, and 
carrying the war to the gates of Carthage. Regulus, one of 
the consuls, was appointed general of this ill-fated expedition. 
His consulship expired soon after he had landed, but the Senate 
sent him a commission to continue at the head of his army, with 
the title of pro-consul. Regulus, who was a genuine Roman, 
bred in the school of poverty, and who esteemed this poverty 



historical reader; 87 

his honor, remonstrated against the appointment ; and repre- 
sented by letters to the Senate, " that the hireling who had 
been employed to cultivate his little estate of seven acres, had 
taken advantage of his absence to run away, and had pur- 
loined at the same time his instruments of tillage; so that his 
presence at home was absolutely necessary, to provide the 
means of subsistence for his family." The Senate assured 
him, that his farm should be attended to, and his family 
supported at the public charge ; and commanded him to re- 
main at the head of the expedition. 

Ancient history contains many marvellous stories of prodi- 
gious animals and astonishing occurrences, which were eagerly 
received by the superstitious credulity of the untravelled Greek 
or Roman. If we credit writers of no small repute, 

" Nature then perverse 
Brought forth all monstrous, all prodigious things, 
Hydras, and gorgons, and chimeras dire.' \ 

And in the words of Othello, 

" Men whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders." 

We are informed, that, "on the banks of the river Bagrada, 
Regulus encountered an enemy of a very extraordinary sort. 
This was a serpent of prodigious size, which seemed to guard 
the river, and attacked the Roman soldiers as they came for 
water. The whole army was prevented by this monster from 
advancing, for more than a month. Several of the legionaries 
were entombed in its capacious body, and many were pressed 
to death with the folds of its tail. Its scales were so hard, that 
the darts thrown against them made no impression ; and its 
nature was so venomous, that every one was poisoned who 
came within the reach of its breath. It was only after repeated 
endeavors, that stones slung from military engines, at last, 
killed it- The river was dyed with its blood ; and the effluvia 
from its carcase was so fatal, that the Romans were obliged 
abruptly to decamp. Its skin was found to be an hundred and 
twenty feet in length." Many other extraordinary things are 
related by historians of this serpent, which, as Hooke remarks, 
was probably nothing more than a crocodile, a creature com- 
mon in Africa, but to which the Romans were at this time 
strangers. 

Regulus, in a pitched battle, defeated the Carthaginians ; and 



83 HISTORICAL READER. 

more than two hundred towns opened their gates to the con- 
queror. During the negotiation for peace, which Regulus 
consented to grant only on condition that the enemy should 
withdraw their troops from Sicily and Sardinia, Xantippus, a 
Lacedemonian general with some Grecian recruits arrived, 
and the conference was broken off. The Romans, after an 
obstinate conflict, were defeated, and Regulus and his army 
taken prisoners. After an imprisonment of six years, he was 
sent to Rome to negotiate an exchange of prisoners, and make 
an honorable peace; an oath having been first obtained from 
him, that he would return if the Romans did not agree to the 
terms. The self-sacrificing conduct of this relentless patriot 
is a subject- celebrated by poets, orators, and artists, and is 
perhaps the most remarkable instance of heroic virtue in the 
annals of Rome. When called upon by the Senate to give his 
opinion of the conditions, he said, " Rome has never yet con- 
cluded a peace of which she has not dictated the conditions, 
nor must she now. I will return to Carthage." He indig- 
nantly rejected as base, and unworthy of the Roman character, 
the subterfuge suggested to him, by which he might be released 
from his oath. 

" Hoc caverat mens provida ReguII 
Dissentientis conditionibus 
FcBdis, et exemplo trahenti 
Perniciem veniens in Eevum ; 
SI non periret immiserablis 
Captiva pubes. Signa ego Punicis 
Affixa delubrls, et arma 
Militlbus sine csede, dixit, 
Direpta vidi: vidi ego eivium 
Retorta tergo brachia libero, 
Portasque non clausas, et arva 
Marte coli populata nostro. 
Auro repensus scilicet acrior 
Miles re dibit! Flagitio additis 
Damnum. Neque amissos colores 
Lana refert medicata fuco ; 
Nee vera virtus, cum semel excidit. 
Curat reponi deterioribus* 
Si pugnat extricata densis 
Cerva plagis, erit ille fortis, 
Qui perfidis se credidit hostibus ? 
Et Marte Psenos proteret altero* 
Qui lora restrictis lacertis 



HISTORICAL READER, 89 

Sensit iners timuitque mortem. 
Hie unde vitam sumeret inscius, 
Pacem duello miscuit. O pudor ! 
O magna Carthago probrosis 
Altior Italiae ruinis ! 
Fertur pudicse conjugis osculum, 
Parvosque natos, ut capitis minor, 
Ab se removisse, et virilem 
Torvus humi posuisse vultum ; 
Donee labantes consilio patres 
Firmaret auctor nunquam alias dato, 
Interque mcerentes amicos 
Egregius properaret exul. 
Atqui sciebat qua3 sibi barbarus 
Tortor pararet : non aliter tamen 
Dimovit obstantes propinquos 
Et populum reditus morantem, 
Quam si clientum longa negotia 
Dijudicata lite relinqueret, 
Tendens Venafranos in agros, 
Aut Lacedaemonium Tarentum." 

The war was, at last, terminated by a complete victory at 
sea, gained over the Carthaginians under Hanno, near the 
iEgades; and another over Amilcar by land, at the foot of 
Mount Eryx. 240 B. C. The conditions of the peace were 
extremely mortifying to Carthage. She was obliged to pay 
an enormous sum of money, and, what was still more aggra- 
vating, to relinquish all pretensions to Sicily, one of her most 
valuable possessions. • 

The space of twenty-four years, which elapsed between the 
first Punic war and the second, was rather an armistice than a 
state of peace. The Roman arms were employed part of the 
time against the Gauls ; and the Carthaginians spent the inter- 
val in recruiting their strength, in extending their dominion in 
Spain, and preparing for a struggle, in which military talents 
were exhibited in the most splendid colors. The spirit of 
indignation with which Amilcar withdrew from Sicily, and 
which he communicated to his son Hannibal, the unjust seizure 
of Sardinia by the Romans, and the successive victories of 
Amilcar, Asdrubal, and Hannibal in Spain, were causes more 
than sufficient to lead these rival nations to another declaration 
of hostilities. 

Hannibal was nine years of age when his father sailed with 

8* 



90 HISTORICAL READEH. 

a numerous army to Spain. He entreated with great earnest- 
ness to be permitted to accompany him. Amilcar consented 
to the request on condition that he should swear eternal enmity 
to Rome. The patriotic youth was led in much solemnity to 
the altars of his country, and fervently pledged his vow. 
Amilcar commanded eight years in Spain with success, and a 
relation of Hannibal eight years more. Under them the young 
Carthaginian studied the art of war, and was, after much 
discussion in the Senate, appointed to the command. From 
this moment all his thoughts were animated with a burning 
desire to retrieve the glory of his country. Livy,by no means 
an impartial judge, thus depicts his character: "Hannibal, on 
his arrival in Spain, attracted the eyes of the whole army. 
The veterans believed that Amilcar was revived and restored to 
them; they saw the same vigorous countenance, the same 
piercing eye, the same complexion and features. But in a 
short time, his behavior occasioned this resemblance to his 
father to contribute the least towards his gaining their favor. 
And, in truth, never was there a genius more happily formed 
for two things, most manifestly contrary to each other — to 
obey and to command. This made it difficult to determine, 
whether the general or soldiers loved him most. Where any 
enterprise required vigor, and valor in the performance, 
Asdrubal always chose him to command the expedition ; nor, 
w ? ere the troops ever more confident of success, or more intre- 
pid, than when he was at their head. None ever showed 
greater bravery in undertaking hazardous attempts, or more 
presence of mind or conduct in the execution of them. No 
hardship could fatigue his body, or daunt his courage : he could 
equally bear cold and heat. The necessary refection of nature, 
not the pleasure of his palate, he solely regarded in his meals. 
He made no distinction of day and night in his watching, or 
taking rest; and appropriated no time to sleep, but what re- 
mained after he had completed his duty : he never sought for 
a quiet or retired place ; but was often seen lying on the bare 
ground, wrapt in a soldier's cloak, among the sentinels and 
guards/ He did not distinguish himself from his companions 
by the magnificence of his dress, but by the quality of his 
horse and arms. At the same time, he was by far the best foot 
and horse soldier in the army ; ever the foremost in a charge, 
and the last who left the field after the battle was begun. 
These shining qualities were however balanced by great vices; 
inhuman cruelty; more than Carthaginian treachery; no respect 
for truth or honor, no fear of the gods, no regard for the 



HISTORICAL READER. 91 

sanctity of oaths, no sense of religion. With a disposition 
thus checquered with virtues and vices, he served three years 
under Asdrubal, without neglecting to pry into, or perform any 
thing, that could contribute hereafter to make him a complete 
general." 

The siege of Saguntum, a city of Spain, was the immediate 
cause of this second war. The Romans sent to order Hannibal 
to desist, for the Saguntines were the allies of Rome. The 
Carthaginian general answered, that he was too busy in mili- 
tary affairs, to have leisure at present to attend to what they 
had to allege, and, pushing on the siege, he compelled the city 
to surrender. The Romans immediately declared war against 
Carthage; and Hannibal crossed the Iberus and pushed on for 
Italy. The whole country between the Pyrenees and the 
northern ridge of the Appenines, was at that time occupied by 
different tribes of Gauls, a people who were eager to sustain 
their independence in all its untutored wildness. By his per- 
suasive arts, Hannibal induced many of these tribes to allow 
him a free passage. They were the enemies of Rome, but 
looked with jealousy on any great military force. It was not 
without difficulty that Hannibal made his way from the Pyre- 
nees to the Alps; but these latter mountains were the most 
frightful obstacle he had to encounter. He had no sooner 
begun to ascend them, than their rugged inhabitants, from the 
cliffs that overhung the path, rolled down huge stones, over- 
setting the elephants and beasts of burden, and precipitating ani- 
mals and men together into the abyss below. Livy states, that 
the elephants were, in some instances, driven first through the 
narrow ways, and wherever they went, they made the army 
secure from the enemy, who, unaccustomed to these animals, 
were naturally afraid of approaching the soldiers. Having, 
with great difficulty and considerable loss, passed through the 
defiles in which they were assailed by men rising up from 
their ambush, and rolling down great stones from the rocks, 
on the ninth day the Carthaginians reached the ridge of the 
Alps. But the descent was more difficult and dangerous. 
The hardships were greater than those which they had expe- 
rienced in clambering up the declivities. They arrived at a 
narrow cliff with crags so perpendicular, that it appeared 
impossible for them to proceed. The ground, covered with 
snow and ice, would not admit a firm footing; and the elephants 
stuck in the snow, and appeared as if they were caught in a 
gin. At length, the beasts and men being wearied to no 
purpose, a camp was pitched on the ridge; a place for this 



92 HISTORICAL READER. 

purpose having been cleared with very great difficulty, so much 
being to be dug and thrown out. After this, soldiers, being 
led out to form a way through the rock, by which alone there 
couid be a road, as the stone must be cut, enormous trees around 
being thrown down and lopped, make a great pile of logs; and, 
when a strong wind fit for making a conflagration had arisen, 
they set on fire the heap, and make brittle the glowing rocks 
by moistening them with vinegar. Thus they lay open with 
instruments of iron the cliff, heated by the fire, and soften the 
declivities by moderate windings, so that not only the beasts of 
burden, but also the elephants, might be led down. (Inde ad 
rupem muniendam, per quam unam via esse poterat, milites 
ducti, quum csedendum esset saxum,arboribus circa immanibus 
dejectis detruncatisque, struem ingentem lignorum faciunt : 
eamque (quum et vis venti apta faciendo igni coorta esset) 
succendunt, ardentiaque saxa infuso aceto putrefaciunt. Jta 
torridam incendio rupem ferro pandunt, molliuntque amfracti- 
bus modicis clivos, ut non jumenta solum, sed elephanti etiam, 
deduci possent.) About the space of four days was spent at 
the cliff; the beasts of burden were almost destroyed by hunger. 
The lower grounds have valleys, and some sunny hills, and 
rivulets near the woods. There the beasts were sent to pas- 
ture, and repose was given to the men weary with road- 
making. 

The army reached Italy after nearly five months' incessant 
exertion and skirmishing, by which several thousand men were 
destroyed. Hannibal had now only 12,000 Africans, 8,000 
Spaniards, and 6,000 cavalry. Scipio, the Roman consul, 
being disappointed of meeting the enemy in Spain and Gaul, 
landed in the Gulf of Genoa, and encountered Hannibal on 
the banks of the Ticinus. Scipio, to encourage his men, is 
said to have addressed his soldiers in words to this effect : 
* * " The enemy you are going to encounter are the 
same, whom in a former war you vanquished both by land 
and sea; the same from whom you took Sicily and Sardinia; 
and who have been these twenty years your tributaries. 
You cannot march against them with the ordinary courage 
with which you face your other enemies, but with the anger 
and indignation you would fee], if you saw your slaves 4 on a 
sudden rise up in arms against you . Conquered and enslaved, 
it is not boldness, but necessity, that urges them to battle. 
But you have heard, perhaps, that although they are few in 
number, they are men vigorous in their minds and bo- 
dies, heroes whose strength and energy nothing can resist. 



HISTORICAL READER. 93 

Scarecrows ! mere shadows of men ! famished, benumbed with 
cold! bruised and battered to pieces among the rocks and 
craggy cliffs ! their weapons broken, and their horses weak 
and foundered! Such are the cavalry and such the infantry, 
with which you are going to contend — not enemies, but frag- 
ments of enemies. # # Under the conduct of a frantic 
youth, they come hither to overturn our state and lay waste 
our country. I wish this contest was for honor only, and not 
for our preservation ; but it is not for the possession of Sicily 
or Sardinia, but for Italy itself you must fight. Nor is there 
any other army in the rear, which, if we do not conquer, may 
oppose the enemy. Nor are there other Alps, which might 
give us leisure to raise new forces. No, soldiers, here you 
must make your stand, as if you were fighting before the 
walls of Rome. Let each individual reflect, that he is now to" 
defend not only his own person, but also his wife, his children, 
his helpless infants. Nor let him only revolve thoughts of his 
own home; but remember that the eyes of the Senate and 
people of Rome are upon us ; and that as our vigor and valor 
shall be, such will be the fortune of that city and of the 
Roman empire." 

Hannibal, thinking it desirable to fortify the minds of his 
soldiers with examples of desperate courage before he address- 
ed them, placed some captive mountaineers before the army, 
and Gallic arms being cast at their feet, ordered the interpreter 
to ask them, "if any, if he were released from his chains, and 
with the promise of liberty, of arms, and a horse if victorious, 
would engage in single combat with a fellow prisoner." The 
offer was eagerly accepted,, and lots were cast for entering the 
lists. Unbounded joy was manifested by all those who were 
appointed. "And when they were contending," says Livy, 
" such was the frame of mind not only among the men of the 
same condition, but also among the spectators generally, that 
the lot of the conquerors was not more praised than that of those 
who died well. After several pairs had contended, Hannibal 
thus addressed his soldiers: 

" I know not, soldiers, whether you or your prisoners be 
encompassed by fortune with the stricter bonds and necessities. 
Two seas enclose you on the right and left ; — not a ship to 
flee to for escaping. Before you is the Po, a river broader 
and more rapid than the Rhone; behind you are the Alps, 
over which, when your numbers were undiminished, you 
were hardly ably to force a passage. Here, then, soldiers, 
you must either conquer or die, the very first hour you meet 



94 HISTORICAL HEADER. 

the enemy. But the same fortune, which has thus laid you 
under the necessity of fighting, has set before your eyes those 
rewards of victory, than which no man was ever wont to wish 
for greater from the immortal gods. Should we by our valor 
recover only Sicily and Sardinia, which were ravished from 
our fathers, these would be no inconsiderable prizes. Yet 
what are these? The wealth of Rome, whatever riches she 
has heaped together in the spoils of nations, ail these, with the 
masters of them, will be yours. You have been long enough 
employed in driving the cattle upon the vast mountains of 
Lusitania and Celtiberia; you have hitherto met with no 
reward worthy of the labors and dangers you have undergone. 
The time is now come, to jeap the full recompense of your 
toilsome marches over so many mountains and rivers; and 
through so many nations, all of them in arms. This is the 
place which fortune has appointed to be the limits of your 
labors : it is here that you will finish your glorious warfare, 
and receive an ample recompense of your completed service. 
For I would not have you imagine, that victory will be as 
difficult, as the name of a Roman is great and sounding. It 
has often happened, that a despised enemy has given a bloody 
battle, and the most renowned kings and nations have by a 
small force been overthrown. And if you but take away the 
glitter of the Roman name, what is there wherein they may 
stand in competition with you? For (to say nothing of your 
services in war for twenty years together with so much valor 
and success) from the very pillars of Hercules, from the ocean, 
from the utmost bounds of the earth, through so many warlike 
nations of Spain and Gaul, are you not come hither victorious? 
And with whom are you now to fight? With raw soldiers, 
an undisciplined army, beaten, vanquished, besieged by the 
Gauls the very last summer, an army unknown to their leader, 
and unacquainted with him. 

"Or, shall I, who was born I might almost say, but certainly 
brought up, in the tent of my father, that most excellent gene- 
ral; shall I, the conqueror of Spain and Gaul, and not only of 
the Alpine nations, but, which is greater yet, of the Alps 
themselves; shall I compare myself with this half year captain? 
A captain before whom, should one place the two armies 
without their ensigns, I am persuaded he would not know to 
which of them he is consul ? I esteem it no small advantage, 
soldiers, that there is not one among you, who has not often 
been an eye witness of my exploits in war ; not one, of whose 
valor I myself have not been a spectator, so as to be able to 



HISTORICAL READER. 95 

name the times and places of his noble achievements ; that 
with soldiers, whom I have a thousand times praised and 
rewarded, and whose pupil I was before I became their gene- 
ral, I shall march against an army of men, strangers to one 
another. 

"On what side soever I turn my eyes, I behold all full of 
courage and strength ; a veteran infantry : a most gallant 
cavalry: you, my allies, most faithful and valiant; you, 
Carthaginians, whom not only your country's cause, but the 
justest anger impels to battle. The hope, the courage, of 
assailants, is always greater than of those who act upon the 
defensive. With hostile banners displayed, you come down 
upon Italy ; you bring the war. Grief, injuries, indignities, 
fire your minds, and spur you forward to revenge! First, 
they demanded me; that I, your general, should be delivered 
up to them ; next, all of you, who had fought at the siege of 
Saguntum; and we were to be put to death by the most ex- 
treme tortures. Proud and cruel nation ! Every thing must 
be yours, and at your disposal ! You are to prescribe to us 
with whom we shall make war, with whom we shall make 
peace! You are to set us bounds; to shut us up between hills 
and rivers ; but you —you are not to observe the limits which 
yourselves have fixed. Pass not the Iberus! What next ! 
Touch not the Saguntines ! Saguntum is upon the Iberus ; 
move not a step toward that city ! Is it a small matter, then, 
that you have deprived us of our ancient possessions, Sicily 
and Sardinia? You would have Spain too! Well, we shall 
yield Spain, and then — you will pass into Africa! Will 
pass, did I say? This very year, they ordered one of their 
consuls into Africa, the other into Spain ! No, soldiers, there 
is nothing left for us, but what we can vindicate with our 
swords. Come on, then. Be men. The Romans may with 
more safety be cowards ; they have their own country behind 
them, have places of refuge to flee to, and are secure from 
danger in the roads thither; but for you there is no middle 
fortune between death and victory. Let this be but well fixed 
in your minds, and once again I say, you are conquerors." 

Hannibal still farther, to animate his men, made a liberal 
promise of lands or money > and to ratify the assurance, took 
a flint in one hand, and holding a lamb in the other, said, 
"Great Jupiter, and all ye gods, if I do not perform my 
promise, slay me, as I do this lamb." On pronouncing these 
words, he broke the skull of the lamb with the flint. 

The Romans were defeated ; and Scipio, who had received 



96 HISTORICAL READER. 

a dangerous wound, would probably have died on the spot, had 
not his son, afterwards the great Africanus, brought him offby 
a surprising effort of courage. The next battle, which was 
more disastrous to the Republic, was fought at Trebia. The 
defeat was attributed by the Romans to the presumptuous 
rashness of the consul Sempronius. Hannibal's third victory 
was gained near the lake Thrasymenus. The consul Fla- 
minius and 15,000 of his army were slain. In this emergency 
Fabius Maximus was appointed dictator — a man distinguished 
for the coolness of his temper, and the great caution with 
which he proceeded in all his actions. He began the exercise 
of his office by a particular attention to the rites and ceremonies 
of the religion of his country. The Sibylline books were 
consulted to ascertain the causes of the present calamities, 
and the guardians of these oracles declared, that the misfor- 
tunes of the Republic were owing to an improper performance 
of a vow to Mars; that it ought to be repeated, and four new 
vows made to several deities, beside a dedication to Jupiter of 
all the pigs and lambs, kids and calves, which should be pro- 
duced in one spring. 

Hannibal had now become master of a great part of Italy, 
and he pushed on his army through Umbria and Picenum, 
to the country of the Samnites. Unwilling to endanger the 
very existence of the Republic by the chance of another 
defeat, Fabius avoided a general engagement ; he encamped 
always on the hills, where the Carthaginians durst not attack: 
he knew that his army was sure to be supplied with provi- 
sions from the great depository at Rome, while the army of 
Hannibal could only be sustained by the success of foraging 
parties. On one occasion Hannibal was nearly entrapped 
by Fabius in the Straits of Callicula, in the same manner that 
he had entrapped Flaminius in the Straits of the lake Thrasy- 
menus. But Hannibal, whose great abilities were equal to 
any emergency, adopted a singular and cruel expedient to 
extricate his army. He collected two thousand oxen, and, 
tying faggots of wood to their horns, set these on fire by night, 
and ordered the oxen to be driven up the mountains. While 
Fabius was in a state of great perplexity, the Carthaginian 
ordered his army to march silently through the pass, and 
before dawn reached the open country without molestation. 

The cautious operations of the great Roman general gave 
great dissatisfaction to his army and the Roman people. He 
received the name of Cunctator or delayer, and was even 
accused of cowardice, and exposed to the taunting sneers of 



HISTORICAL READER. 97 

the wits of Rome. They observed that "Fabius was Hannibal's 
schoolmaster, and not his competitor," that " the dictator had 
chosen a convenient point of view, from which he might see 
their fields burning and their towns laid waste; and that, not 
thinking the earth any longer safe, he had pitched his camp in 
heaven, that he might cover himself with the clouds." His 
reply to these bitter sarcasms evinces the greatness of his mind. 
Being urged by some of his friends to wipe off these aspersions 
by risking a battle, he said, " I should be a more dastardly spirit 
than they represent me, if, through fear of insults and reproach- 
es, I should depart from my own resolution. But to fear for my 
country is not a disgraceful fear. That man is unworthy of 
such a command as this, icho shrinks under calumnies and 
slanders, and complies with the humor of those whom he ought 
to govern, and whose folly and rashness it is his duty to re- 
strain." 

The wisdom of the Cunctator's conduct was manifested soon 
after the indignity offered him, by the appointment of his chief 
enemy, Minucius, to an office inconsistent with the undivided 
and supreme power, that had hitherto been exercised by the 
Dictator. This reviier of the protector of the state, got an 
unprecedented law passed, declaring him equal in command to 
the Dictator himself. The Roman army was accordingly 
divided into two parts, and Hannibal, rejoicing in this act of 
folly and ingratitude, tempted Minucius into the plains, drew 
him into an ambush, and led him to the brink of destruction. 
Fabius, devoted to his country's welfare, rejected with scorn the 
temptation, now presented, to let his unworthy colleague expe- 
rience the full effect of his own rashness. When he learnt that 
the army of his colleague was surrounded and broken, lie said 
with a deep sigh to his friends, " How much sooner than I 
expected, has Minucius ruined himself." Having commanded 
his whole army to advance, his generosity probably overcoming 
his judgment, he said, " Now, my brave soldiers, if any one 
has a regard for Minucius let him exert himself; for he de- 
serves assistance for his valor, and the love he bears his 
country. If, in his haste to drive out the enemy, he has 
committed an error, this is not a time to find fault with him." 
By this timely aid, the army was saved from destruction, and 
" the coals of fire which were heaped on his head" melted his 
mind to gratitude, and redeemed his character from lasting 
reproach. When Fabius came out, Minucius fixed his standard 
before him, and with a loud voice saluted him by the name of 
Father. " You have this day, Fabius, obtained two victories ; 

9 



98 HISTORICAL READER. 

one over the enemy by your valor, the other over your 
colleague by your prudence and humanity. By the former 
you saved us, by the latter you have instructed us. I call 
you Father, not knowing a more honorable name. I am more 
indebted to you than to any real father. To him I owe my 
being, but to you the preservation of my life, and the lives of 
all these brave men." After this he threw himself into the 
arms of Fabius, and the soldiers of each army embraced one 
another, with every expression of tenderness, and with tears 
ofjoy. 

In the next year occurred the great and terrible battle of 
Cannse, which threatened forever to extinguish the Roman 
name. In this battle there fell 70,000 Romans, and among them 
one consul, two consuls of the preceding year, twenty-one 
principal officers^ and four-score senators. The slaughter 
would have been greater, had not Hannibal called on all sides 
to his soldiers to spare the vanquished. Three bushels of gold 
rings, taken from the fingers of the slain, are said to have been 
sent to Carthage. The patriotic spirit of the Romans on this 
dreadful calamity is beyond all praise. Their undaunted 
courage never appeared so illustrious as on this occasion. 
When the consul Varro, the only officer of rank that survived 
the battle, sent word to Rome, that he was endeavoring to 
collect the fragments of his army, the Senate returned him 
thanks, that he had not despaired of the Republic. No 
inhabitant of Rome bore so mean a spirit as to breathe a 
word of peace ; and the Senate, when Hannibal sent a mes- 
sage proposing the ransom of the prisoners, magnanimously 
delivered the sentiment of Regul us, that "a citizen who had 
thrown down his arms before an enemy, was unworthy to be 
considered as a member of the commonwealth" 

Fabius, who, before the battle, was deemed cold and timid, 
now appeared to his countrymen to be directed by counsels, 
the dictates of a divine wisdom, which penetrated into futurity, 
and foresaw what seemed incredible to the very persons who 
experienced it. In him Rome placed her hope; his judgment 
was the temple to which they flew for refuge. He, who in 
times of apparent security seemed to be deficient in confidence 
and resolution, now walked about the city with a calm and 
easy pace, with a firm countenance, a mild and gracious 
address. He caused the Senate to meet; he encouraged the 
magistrates, and was himself the soul and actuating spring of 
all. Many remarkable sayings and actions of this great man 
are recorded, which well deserve to be treasured in the memory. 



HISTORICAL READER. 99 

Being informed that a Marcian in his army , who was not inferior 
to any of the allies, had solicited some of his men to desert, he 
acknowledged that he had been too much neglected, and 
declared, at the same time, that he was sensible how much 
his officers had been to blame in distributing honors more out 
of favor than regard to merit, and that in future he should 
take it ill, if he did not apply to him when he had any request 
to make. This was followed with a present of a war horse, 
and other marks of honor. The discontented officer was 
deeply impressed by this generous treatment, and evinced his 
sense of it by his exemplary zeal and fidelity. Fabius thought 
it unnatural, "that while those who breed dogs and horses, 
soften their stubborn tempers, and bring down their fierce 
spirits by care and kindness, rather than whips and chains, 
he who has the command of men should not endeavor to 
correct their errors by gentleness and goodness, but treat 
them even in a harsher and more violent manner than gar- 
deners do wild fig trees, wild pears, and olives, whose nature 
they subdue by cultivation, and which by that means they 
bring to produce very agreeable fruit." 

Among other honors which the Romans paid to Fabius, 
they elected his son consul. On one occasion, the father 
mounted the consul's horse to ride up to him. Young Fabius, 
seeing him at a distance, sent one of the lictors to order him 
to dismount. The whole assembly expressed by their looks 
their resentment of the indignity offered to a person of his 
character. But the elder Fabius instantly alighted, and ran to 
his son, and embraced him with great tenderness. "My son," 
said he, "I applaud your sentiments and your behavior. You 
know what people you command, and have a just sense of the 
dignity of your office. This was the way that we and our 
forefathers took to advance Rome to her present height of 
glory, always considering the honor and interest of our coun- 
try before that of our fathers and children." 



CHAPTER XIII. 



MAItCELLUS AND THE SIEGE OF SYRACUSE. 

After the great battle of Cannoe, the Romans expected 
that Hannibal would directly march upon Rome; and his 
generalship is much censured by Livy because he did not 
immediately lay siege to the capital. "Hannibal," it was 
said, "knows how to conquer, but he knows not how to take 
advantage of his victories." But it is probable, that his saga- 
city discerned that the enterprise was too hazardous. He had 
experienced the courage, steadiness, and unwearied exertions 
of his enemies, and he was entirely unprovided with implements 
for carrying on a siege. After this defeat, the Romans, con- 
vinced that they could not hope to conquer the Carthaginians 
in a general battle, divided their troops into many armies, never 
risked their whole strength in one action, but contented them- 
selves with wasting Hannibal's forces in small engagements, 
harrassing his allies, and protecting their own. Hannibal was 
many years hemmed in among the Bruttians, in a corner of 
Italy, without supplies from his own country, and in want of 
men and money. Considering the small number of his troops, 
the towns which he had to garrison, and the allies to protect, 
it is rather more a subject of surprise that he remained so long 
in Italy, than that he made no progress in conquest. 

One of the inevitable consequences of the battle of Cannce, 
was the defection of many of the allies of Rome. The most 
faithful and generous of the friends of Rome was Hiero, king 
of Syracuse, who died in the year of this great defeat. The 
city immediately declared for its ancient allies, the Cartha- 
ginians, and Marcellus, called the sword of Rome, (Fabricius 
was denominated its shield) was appointed to reduce it to 
subjection. The siege of this city lasted three years, in spite 
of the utmost efforts of the Romans, a resistance effected by 
the machines constructed by Archimedes — the most celebrated 
mathematician of antiquity. History informs us, that when 
the Romans attacked the city by sea and land, the inhabitants 



HISTORICAL READER. 101 

were struck dumb with terror, imagining that they could not 
possibly resist such numerous forces, and so furious an assault. 
But Archimedes soon began to play his engines, which shot 
against the land forces all sorts of missive weapons, and stones 
of an enormous size, with an incredible noise and rapidity, 
which nothing could resist; they overturned and crushed 
whatever came in their way, and spread terrible disorder 
throughout the ranks. On the side towards the sea were 
erected vast machines, stretching forth on a sudden over the 
walls, huge beams with suitable tackle, which, striking with a 
prodigious force on the enemy's galleys, sunk them at once ; 
while other ships, hoisted up at the prows by iron grapples or 
hooks, like the beaks of cranes, and set on end on the stern, 
were plunged to the bottom of the sea : and others by ropes 
and grapples, were drawn towards the shore, and, after being 
whirled about, and dashed against the rocks that projected 
below the walls, were broken to pieces, and the crews perished. 
Very often a ship, lifted high above the sea, suspended and 
twirling in the air, presented a most dreadful spectacle. There 
it swung till the men were thrown out by the violence of the 
motion, and then it split against the walls, or sunk on the 
engine's letting go its hold. The Roman general Marcellus 
was obliged to retire. " Why do we not," said he, "leave off 
contending with this mathematical Briareus, who, sitting on the 
shore, and acting as it were in jest, has shamefully baffled our 
naval assault; and in striking us with such a number of bolts 
at once, exceeds even the hundred handed giants in the fable. 5 ' 
At last, the Romans were so terrified, that if they saw but a 
rope or a stick put over the walls, they cried out, that 
Archimedes was levelling some machine at them, and turned 
their backs and fled. Marcellus gave up all thoughts of pro- 
ceeding by assault, and, leaving the matter to time, turned the 
siege into a blockade. 

Archimedes is said to have been asked by Hiero to ascertain 
if the goldsmith, whom he had employed to make a golden 
crown for him, had used all the precious metal in the work- 
manship. The crown was of the proper weight, but was 
suspected to be alloyed with silver. The difficulty was to 
measure the bulk of the crown without melting it into a regular 
figure. For silver being, weight for weight, of greater bulk 
than gold, any alloy of the former, in place of an equal weight 
of the latter, would necessarily increase the bulk of the crown. 
While thinking on this subject, Archimedes went to bathe, 
and on stepping into the bath, which was full, observed the 

9* 



102 HISTORICAL READER. 

very simple fact, that a quantity of water, of the same bulk as 
his body, must flow over before he could immerse himself. 
It immediately struck him, that by immersing a weight of real 
gold, equal to that which the crown ought to have contained, 
in a vessel full of water, and observing how much water was 
left, when the weight was taken out again, and by afterwards 
doing the same thing with the crown itself, he could ascertain 
whether the latter exceeded the former in bulk. As soon as 
he had found out the method of detection, he did not wait a 
moment, but jumping joyfully out of the bath, and running 
undressed towards his own house, called out with a loud voice, 
"I have found it! I have found it! " While he was in Egypt 
he discovered the screw which bears his name. " Though in 
the invention of machines, he gained," says Plutarch, "the 
reputation of a man endowed with divine rather than human 
knowledge, he did not vouchsafe to leave any account of them 
in writing; for he considered all attention to mechanics, and 
every art that ministers to common uses, as mean and sordid, 
and placed his whole delight in those intellectual speculations, 
which, without any relation to the necessities of life, have 
an intrinsic excellence, arising from truth and demonstration 
only." 

Syracuse was at length taken by surprise, when the inhabi- 
tants were indulging in intemperate mirth on the festival of 
Diana. A soldier, it is said, entered the study of Archimedes, 
so intent on his mathematical researches, that he did not hear 
the tumultuous noise in the streets, and ordered him to follow 
him to Marcellus. The philosopher, refusing to obey till he 
had finished his problem, was instantly put to death by the 
enraged Roman. According to another version of this story, 
the soldier rushed up to Archimedes on entering the room, and 
put his sword to his throat. " Hold ! " said he, "one moment, 
and my demonstratipn will be finished." Marcellus was much 
concerned at his death, and turned away his face from his 
assassin as from an impious and execrable person. He par- 
ticularly inquired after the relations of the philosopher, and 
bestowed upon them many signal favors. 

The fall of Syracuse is a memorable event in the history of 
Rome ; since by the introduction of the statues and paintings 
found in this luxurious city, a taste for the fine arts was crea- 
ted. " Before this," says Plutarch, " Rome neither had nor 
knew any curiosities of this kind, being a stranger to the 
charms of taste and elegance. Full of arms taken from bar- 
barous nations, and of bloody spoils, and crowned, as she was, 



HISTORICAL READER. 103 

with trophies and other monuments of her triumphs, she 
afforded not* a cheerful and pleasing spectacle fit for men 
brought up in ease and luxury, but her look was awful and 
severe. One might then have styled Rome the temple of 
frowning Mars* Marcellus was more acceptable to the people, 
because he adorned the city with curiosities in the Grecian 
taste. But the graver citizens condemned him, and said, that 
he had corrupted a people inured' to agriculture and war, and 
wholly unacquainted with luxury and sloth,- by furnishing them 
with an occasion of idleness and vain discourse. They now 
began to spend a great part of their time in disputing about 
arts and artists. But Marcellus despised these censures, and 
boasted that he was the first, who taught the Romans to esteem 
and admire the exquisite performances of Greece." 

This eminent general had' some years before distinguished 
himself in a war against the Gauls, in which he obtained the 
Spolia opima by killing Virodomarus, the king of the enemy. 
When the two armies were on the point of engaging, the bar- 
barian king, advancing before his troops, defied the Roman 
general to single combat. Marcellus joyfully accepted the 
challenge, lushed upon his enemy, killed him, and stripped 
him of his armor. Milan was taken; and the Gauls, surren- 
dering the rest of their cities, obtained favorable conditions of 
peace. The Senate decreed a triumph to Marcellus. The 
rich spoils that were displayed, the prodigious size of the 
captives, and the magnificence with which the whole was con- 
ducted, rendered it the most splendid that had ever been seen. 
But the most remarkable spectacle was Marcellus himself, 
carrying the armor of Virodomarus, which he had vowed to 
Jupiter. He cut the trunk of an oak in the form of a trophy, 
which he o domed with the spoils of that barbarian, and every 
part of his arms in handsome order. When the procession 
began to move, he mounted his chariot, which was drawn 
by four horses, and passed through the city, having on 
his shoulders the trophy, that was the noblest ornament of the 
whole triumph. The army followed, clad in elegant armor, 
and singing odes composed on that occasion, and other songs 
of triumph, in honor of Jupiter and their general. The Ro- 
mans, rejoicing in the glorious termination of this war, made 
an offering to Apollo, at Delphi, of a golden cup, in testimony 
of their gratitude; they also liberally shared the spoils with 
the confederate cities, and made a very handsome present out 
of them to Hiero, king of Syracuse, their friend and ally. 
On another occasion, after his achievrnents in Sicily, 



104 HISTORICAL READER. 

Marcellus enjoyed a lesser triumph, called an ovation. In 
this the general did not ride in a triumphal chariot drawn by 
four horses; he was not crowned with laurel, nor had he trum- 
pets sounding before him; but, he walked in sandals, attended 
with the music of many flutes, and wearing a crown of 
myrtle. 

On his return from Sicily, he was desirous to dedicate to 
Honor and Virtue the temple which he had built out of the 
Sicilian spoils, but he was opposed by the priests, who would 
not consent that two deities should be contained in one temple. 
They alleged, that if the temple should be struck with .light- 
ning, or any other prodigy should happen to it that wanted 
expiation, they would not know to which of the deities to oiTer 
the expiatory sacrifice* " There were many prodigies at this 
time which gave him uneasiness. Some temples were struck 
with lightning; in that of Jupiter rats gnawed the gold; and it 
was reported that an ox spoke, and that there was a child 
living, that was born with an elephant's head; and when the 
expiations of these prodigies was attempted, there were no 
tokens of success. The augurs would not, under the circum- 
stances, allow him to leave home, notwithstanding his impa- 
tience and eagerness to have a decisive battle with Hannibal. 
Such was the gross superstition of the Roman people. These 
and similar prodigies are related by grave historians with every 
indication of implicit faith. Thus we are told that when 
Alexander had lost his way in the Libyan desert, a flock of 
crows suddenly made their appearance and directed him; and 
that during the night when he happened to go wrong, these 
birds called him by their croaking, and put him in the right 
course ; that the stars of Castor and Pollux appeared on each 
side the helm of Lysander's ship;" that Antony's statue in 
Alba was covered with perspiration for some days, which 
returned though it was frequently wiped off; that in Cleopa- 
tra's royal galley, a terrible phenomenon appeared — some 
swallows built their nests in the stern, and others drove them 
away and destroyed their young; that when the fire on an 
altar seemed to be extinguished, a strong and bright flame 
suddenly broke out of the embers, by which great terror was 
excited; that the eclipse of the moon portended the sudden 
obscurity of something that was at present glorious; that a 
swarm of bees settling on Dion's ship intimated that all his 
glorious prospects would come to nothing ; that pigs born 
without ears was an omen of rebellion and revolt ; that a large 
fish seizing the hinder part of a pig, plainly announced, that 



HISTORICAL READER. 105 

the lower part of the city near the sea would betaken ; that the 
sedition of Marius was prefigured by fire blazing of its own 
accord from the ensign staves, and by three ravens bringing 
their young into the city and devouring them there; that in the 
presence of the whole Senate, a sparrow brought a grasshopper 
in its mouth, and having torn it in two, left one part among 
them, and carried the other off, by which the divines declared, 
that they apprehended a dangerous sedition and dispute be- 
tween the town and country, for the inhabitants of the town 
are noisy like grasshoppers, and those of the country are 
domestic beings like the sparrow ; that the river Picene was 
seen flowing with blood, and that three moons appeared over 
the city of Amrisium, in consequence of which the consuls 
were recalled ; and that because the squeaking of a rat hap- 
pened to be heard at the moment Minucius appointed Flaminius 
his general of the horse, the people obliged them to quit their 
posts and appoint others in their stead." 

These are only a specimen of the lying wonders, and super- 
stitious apprehensions, and credulity of the Pagan world ; and, 
whoever believed them not was esteemed by the people profane 
and impious. Livy himself severely condemns those who 
did not believe, and receive with profound awe, these idle tales 
and ridiculous interpretations. And, why do we treat them 
with laughter and contempt? Why can we scarcely persuade 
ourselves that the system of heathen mythology, with all its 
prodigies and omens, ever prevailed in the world, and amongst 
the most civilized nations of antiquity? Are we ; in the general 
science of the mind, superior to the great sages of antiquity, 
many of whom, it is certain, implicitly received the mythology 
of their .country, and firmly believed the accounts of prodigies, 
and, with complete prostration of the understanding, listened 
to the explanations of their soothsayers? Are the men of our 
age in intellect before Xenophon, the pupil the Socrates, the 
great captain and philosopher, who, by his master's advice, 
consulted the oracle of Delphi, who sacrificed to a cold north 
wind, who consulted the sacrifices in secret to determine his 
conduct, who was himself an augur, and on one occasion was 
determined by the victims to refuse the sole command of an 
army, who mentions with evident faith the descent of Hercules 
to the lower regions, who had almost starved his army rather 
than lead them into the field against the auspices, whose con- 
duct was, on many occasions, influenced by dreams, and who, 
with his whole army, regarded sneezing as a very lucky 
omen ? It will be admitted, that, notwithstanding the wonderful 



106 HISTORICAL READER. 

discoveries in natural philosophy, the master spirits of modern 
times do not surpass in pure intellect the wise men of Greece 
and Rome. And yet, children even regard with contempt and 
ridicule the religion, and religious practices of these great men, 
whose names are chronicled in records that will last to the 
end of time. Whence is this? There is only one answer 
that can satisfy any unprejudiced mind. "The true Light 
hath appeared." " Through the tender mercy of our God, 
the day spring from on high hath visited us, to give light to 
them that sat in darkness, and in the shadow of death.' 7 
" God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness* 
hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of 
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." With what joy 
and gratitude would nof Socrates, Plato, Xenophon, Cicero, 
and other philosophers of antiquity, have received the marvel- 
lous light, which many men of modern days, wise in their 
own conceits, represent as unnecessary, and therefore not 
Divine ? The light of Nature they deem sufficient. 

" Vain, wretched creature! how art thou misled,- 

To think thy wit these god-like notions bred! 

These truths are not the product of thy mind,. 

But dropp'd from Heaven, and of a nobler kind. 

Reveal' d Religion first inform' d thy sight, 

And Reason saw not till Faith sprung the light. 

Hence all thy natural worship takes the source: 

'Tis Revelation what thou think'st discourse. 

Else how com' st thou to see these truths so clear,- 

Which so obscure to heathens did appear? 

Not Plato these, nor Aristotle found ; 

Nor he whose wisdom oracles renown'd. 

Hast thou a wit so deep, or so sublime? 

Or canst thou lower dive, or higher climb? 

Can'st thou by reason more of Godhead know 

Than Plutarch, Seneca, or Cicero? 

Those giant wits in earlier ages born, 

When arms and arts did Greece and Rome adorn 7 

Knew no such system ; no such piles could raise 

Of natural worship, built on prayer and praise 

To one sole God." Dkydett. 

"And with respect to a rule of conduct, the morality of Him who 
is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, is superlatively pre-eminent* 
The precepts of Christianity (says one who had made the study 
of the Classics almost the sole business of his life) respecting 



HISTORICAL READER. 107 

the regulation of human life in every branch of duty, whether 
relative or personal, not only excel in sublimity of sentiment, 
and in suitableness to the great end of all morality, I mean, the 
refinement of the heart and the exaltation of character to the 
highest point attainable by our measure of rational intelligence : 
the Gospel precepts not only excel, I say, in these respects 
the morality of any single philosopher of antiquity, but the 
concentrated wisdom of every moralist and philosopher of 
every age and nation, even when purged from that mass of 
impurity, absurdity and error, which so debases the systems 
of heathen discipline. The true scholar is well assured from 
evidence most unequivocal, that our Saviour brought down from 
the skies what Socrates wished, but wished in vain. Produce 
me the man, who can justly claim a superiority, in native 
endowments of intellect and heart, and the accomplishments of 
learning to the Platos, the Aristotles, the Xenophons, the Tullies 
of Greece and Rome. Is that, shall we suppose, within the 
compass of his capacity, which these heroes of literature and 
genius were unable to attain? So then, to form a true judg- 
ment of the powers of unassisted reason, and the progress of 
natural religion, we ought, in all propriety and fairness, to 
recur to those systems of morality, which existed before the 
birth of Christ. They alone are the reasonable specimens of 
those powers ; the genuine criterion of that progress. The 
numerous schemes of moral philosophy, devised, or rather 
drawn up, beneath the sunshine of Gospel light, have received 
too much illumination from that source of brightness, to pass 
with considerate examiners for a proper test of the abilities of 
man, unaided by revelation. Yes, educated under those 
benign influences, which Christianity has shed on life and 
manners, we have imperceptibly imbibed a portion of its vivi- 
fying spirit; and easily mistake that for an emanation of bor- 
rowed light, which is but a reflection of a brighter luminary, 
unobserved merely from a long familiarity with its effects. 
The fountain of living waters first flowed indeed only through 
the country of Judea; but has since distributed rivulets of 
health and vigor through every civilized region of the universe. 
Nay, further, the purer morality of the later Grecian schools, 
and the striking superiority discernible in the theories of modern 
times over those of the old philosophers, afford of themselves 
an incontrovertible demonstration, that the waters of Israel far 
transcend in salutary virtues Arbana and Pharpar, and all the 
rivers of Damascus. Tossed about by the contending waves 
of Gentile philosophy, and wandering with an uncertain course 



108 HISTORICAL HEADER, 

under the glimmerings of natural religion, my vessel flies for 
refuge into the haven of the Gospel ; where she may cast at 
length the anchor of her hope, and ride in safety." 

Marcellus, after his return from Syracuse, was again 
appointed to oppose Hannibal, whose continuance in Italy 
did not deter the Romans from sending troops into Spain, 
where Publius Scipio, and his brother Cneius, were cut off 
with the greatest part of their forces. In this campaign Mar- 
cellus behaved with greater vigor than before; many of the 
towns of the Samnites, who had revolted, were recovered, and 
300 of the soldiers of Hannibal were made prisoners. Some 
time after, an engagement with the Carthaginian general mis- 
carried, owing to an ill executed movement. Marcellus 
retreated into his camp, and having summoned his troops 
together, told them, "He saw the arms and bodies of Romans 
in abundance before him, but not one Roman." On begging 
pardon, he said, "He would not forgive them while vanquish- 
ed, but, when they came to be victorious, he would ; and that 
he would lead them into the field again next day, that the news 
of the victory might reach Rome before that of their flight. 
The next morning the soldiers were drawn up in order, and the 
troops that had come off with dishonor before, obtained leave, 
at their earnest request, to be posted in the foremost line. 
TT annibal, on this occasion, exclaimed, "Ye gods, what can 
one do with a man who is not affected with either good or bad 
fortune? This is the only man who will neither give any time 
to rest when he is victorious, nor take any when he is beaten. 
We must even resolve to fight with him forever; since, whether 
prosperous or unsuccessful, a principle of honor leads him on 
to new attempts and further exertions of courage." The con- 
flict was dreadful, and almost equally disastrous to each army. 
Eight thousand Carthaginians were slain, and so desperate, and 
so determined were the Romans to retrieve their injured honor, 
that almost all were wounded. — Hannibal overran the coun- 
try, burning and destroying all before him. Marcellus, 
however, was soon again in the field at the head of another 
army, but being not sufficiently vigilant against the snares of 
his enemy, he imprudently separated himself from his camp, 
and was killed in an ambuscade, in the sixtieth year of his 
age, in his fifth consulship. B. C. 207. 

When Hannibal learned that Marcellus was killed, he has- 
tened to the place, and, standing over the body a long time, 
surveyed its size and mien, but without speaking one insulting 
word, or showing the least sign of joy. " O, what a noble 



HISTORICAL READER. 109 

mind is here o'erthrown." He caused his body to be 
magnificently attired and burnt, and the ashes to be put 
into a silver urn, and then placed a crown of gold upon 
it, and sent it to his son. 



10 



CHAPTER XIV. 



SCIPIO AFRICANUS. 



There was at this time a rising genius in Rome, that fixed 
on himself all. eyes, and won all hearts. This was Pubiius 
Cornelius Scipio, the son of the pro-consul. Though only 
twenty-one years of age, yet he was thought well qualified 
to succeed to the command in Spain, the country where his 
father and his uncle had lost their lives. He brought rein- 
forcements, collected the remains of their armies, and he 
composed and conciliated the districts north of the Iberus. 
Having spent the remainder of the year in these occupations, 
he signalized the next by an expedition against New Car- 
thage, now Carthagena, founded by the Carthaginians, and 
the capital of their possessions in Spain. Such was the 
wisdom of his measures, and so great the enthusiasm both of 
the Romans and allies to execute his orders, that, to the great 
dismay and astonishment of the Carthaginians, he won the 
town by assault the first day. The Carthaginians lost their 
capital by their too great confidence in its security. New 
Carthage was the great emporium of the Africans in that 
part of the world, and was therefore full of riches of various 
kinds. But what Scipio considered of greater importance, 
and was to him the occasion of great glory, it contained the 
hostages which the Carthaginians had demanded from all the 
kingdoms of Spain, and which they held in safe custody, as the 
pledge of the fidelity of their tributaries. All these Scipio 
liberated, believing that he should obtain more faithful assist- 
ance by this unprecedented act of generosity, than by detaining 
securely the persons of those who were so dear to their coun- 
trymen. Nor was he disappointed in his generous polic} r . 
Spain, in a few years, became the most faithful and the most 
valuable of all the provinces of the Roman empire. - 

Among the hostages were several ladies of high rank, the 
wives and daughters of the first personages of Spain. These 
were, by his order, brought into his presence. One of them, a 



HISTORICAL READER. Ill 

venerable princess, wife of Mandonius, brother of the king of 
the Jlergetes, cast herself at his feet, imploring, " that he would 
give the strictest orders, concerning their treatment, and the 
respect to be observed to them." Scipio replied, "that she 
might depend upon nothing being wanting to them suitable to 
their rank." And on her explaining her apprehensions re- 
specting the fate of the youthful and beautiful princesses, he 
said, " the virtue and dignity which you have displayed under 
your misfortunes, particularly oblige me to be attentive to your 
demand." He then committed the care of these ladies of 
distinction to officers of approved fidelity, and ordered that 
they should be treated with the same respect that was due to 
the sisters and daughters of the first men of Rome. 

Soon after this, a female captive of pre-eminent beauty was 
brought before him. Scipio enquired after her country and 
her parents, and, being told that she was betrothed to a Celtibe- 
rian prince, named Allucius, ordered that Allucius and her 
parents should be sent for. Taking the young prince aside, 
he said, "Your betrothed has been among us, as she would 
have been in the house of her father and mother. I deliver 
her to you, and all that I ask of you in return is, that if sincere 
and honorable conduct appear worfhy of your estimation, you 
will henceforth be a friend to the Roman people." The rela- 
tions of the young lady had brought with them a considerable 
sum for her ransom, and they desired Scipio to accept their 
money as a free gift, declaring, "that in so doing they should 
consider him as conferring on them no less an obligation, than 
when he returned to them their daughter uninjured." Scipio 
yielded to their importunity, and ordered the gold to be brought, 
and laid at his feet. Then calling for Allucius, he said, " In 
addition to the dowry you will receive from your father-in-law, 
allow me to present you with this sum as a marriage gift." 
Overcome with the noble behavior of the Roman general, 
Allucius imparted to all whom he met the same feelings of 
admiration, and published, wherever he went, " that there 
was come among them a young hero terrible and beneficent 
as the immortals, and ail conquering by his benignity as by 
his sword." 

When the children, who were hostages, appeared, he called 
them to him one by one, and caressed, and soothed them; telling 
them that in a short time they should see their parents. The 
rest he ordered to write to their several cities that they were 
safe and well, and that they should soon be permitted to return 
W their respective habitations, if their friends would only consent 



112 HISTORICAL READER. 

to embrace the alliance of the Romans. Having before selected 
from the spoils what was most proper for his design, he present- 
ed all of them with such ornaments as were suitable to their 
sex and age. To the girls he gave bracelets and little pic- 
tures, and to the young men and boys, swords and poinards. 

Asdrubal, the Carthaginian general, after the defeat of the 
two elder Scipios, believing that Spain was quite secure, cros- 
sed the Pyrenees and the Alps with a view of joining Hannibal, 
and reducing the whole of Italy to subjection. He approached 
the Po, besieged Placentia, and pushed on his march for the 
province of Umbria, where he expected to meet his brother. 
Asdrubal, from the arrival of fresh troops at the Roman camp, 
entertained the suspicion that his brother was defeated, and, dis- 
mayed at this apprehension, broke up his camp in the night, and 
retreated, and while his army was in a state of confusion, from 
having been misled by a faithless guide, he was attacked on 
the banks of the Metaurus, defeated, and slain. His head was 
thrown into Hannibal's tent. The brave Carthaginian, on 
recognizing the ghastly features of his brother, for the first 
time despaired of success, and exclaimed, " It is done ; I will 
no longer send triumphant messages to Carthage; my brother 
being dead, with him have perished the hopes and the fortunes 
of our house." 

Scipio spent five successive years in Spain, and did not 
leave that country, till an enemy was no longer to be found. 
He repeatedly fought and defeated the Carthaginians. He 
subdued the natives not only by his arms, but also by the 
engaging nobleness and generosity of his behavior. Some of 
these barbarous tribes broke their engagements, and renewed 
the war; but they were again reduced, and their leaders, being 
brought before Scipio, entreated his forgiveness. The Roman 
general replied, "By the ill use you have made of my former 
clemency, and by your breach of the most solemn engagements, 
you have deserved to die : live, nevertheless, and owe your 
lives to my forbearance, and that of the Roman people. I 
shall not disarm you; that would appear as if I feared you; 
nor if you should once more abuse my patience, will I take 
vengeance on your blameless hostages, but upon yourselves." 

Scipio regarded the conquest of Spain as a step leading to 
the invasion of Africa. This was the measure to which his 
mind prompted him from the termination of the war. Having 
now entered the thirtieth year of his age, he sought and ob- 
tained the consulship. B. C. 205. Sicily was the province 
assigned him, with liberty to pass into Africa, if he thought 



HISTORICAL READER. 113 

proper. He spent this year in making immense preparations, 
and the next sailed over for Carthage. He defeated and took 
prisoner, Syphax, king of Numidia, and also routed the Cartha- 
ginian army, and burnt their camp. 

The whole army were much affected with the spectacle of 
king Syphax in chains, a prince whose alliance had been so 
lately courted by two powerful republics. When Scipio 
asked him, " what k was that could have induced him to reject 
the alliance of Rome, and without provocation to take up arms 
against her;" "Madness!" answered Syphax; "I married 
a Carthaginian woman, and it was the nuptial torch that set 
my palace on fire; Sophonisba was the sorceress, who, by 
her enchantments deprived me of my reason ; nor did she ever 
rest till with her own hands, she armed me with those impious 
weapons which I have employed against my guest and my 
friend ; but, in the midst of my adversity and ruin, I have this 
consolation left, that I see the pest, the fury, gone into the house 
of my most implacable enemy ; Masinissa will not be more 
prudent nor steady than Syphax ; Sophonisba will have all 
power over him." 

Masinissa, who had married the traitoress, was courteously 
received by Scipio, who, however, remonstrated with him on 
the gross impropriety of his conduct ; and said, " There is not, 
believe me, there is not so much danger to our years, from 
armed enemies, as from the pleasures that on all sides surround 
us. He who has acquired the mastery over his appetites and 
passions, has made a nobler conquest, and gained greater 
glory, than we by our vanquishing king Syphax." The 
prince, overcome with grief and passion, when he found that 
Sophonisba must be delivered up to the Romans, sent to her a 
poisonous draught, with the message, "Sophonisba, mindful 
of her father, her country, and the two kings, whose wife she 
has been, will consult her own honor." When the minister 
of death came to the queen, and, with the message, presented 
her the poison: " I accept," said she, " the marriage gift, nor 
is it unwelcome, if my husband could indeed do nothing kinder 
for his wife." She took the cup with a steady hand, and 
drank its contents. 

Many prodigies are said to have occurred at this time, 
(among which we read of two suns shining at night,) and, the 
Sibylline books being consulted for the proper expiations, it 
was found written, "That if a foreign enemy invaded Italy, he 
might be vanquished and driven out, if the goddess Cybele 
were brought to Rome from Pessinus in Phrygia." This 

10* 



114 HISTORICAL READER. 

Cybele, styled "the mother of the gods," was a shapeless 
stone, which was said lo have fallen from heaven on Mount 
Ida. The Senators sent five ambassadors, men of distinction, 
to obtain by negotiation this object of profound adoration. The 
oracle of Delphi was consulted on the occasion, and a favorable 
answer was received with the strict charge, however, that they 
should commit her to the guardianship of the most virtuous 
man in the Republic. P. Scipio, surnamed Nasica, a young 
man, obtained the office. Attended by the most virtuous ladies 
of Rome, and some of the Vestal Virgins, he proceeded to 
meet the goddess. The vessel struck on a bank of sand, near 
the mouth of the Tiber, and when neither the mariners, nor 
several yoke of oxen were able to move it, Quinta Claudia, it is 
said, in answer to her prayer, set it afloat with her girdle. 
The day on which Cybele arrived at Rome, became a solemn 
annual festival, distinguished by games, called Megalenses. 

The success of Scipio in Africa, rendered it necessary that 
Hannibal should be recalled from Italy. The historian of the 
"Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" observes: " The 
unsuccessful expedition of Hannibal, served only to display 
the character of the Senate and people; of a Senate degraded, 
rather than ennobled, by the comparison of an assembly of 
kings; and of a people to whom the ambassador of Pyrrhus 
ascribed the inexhaustible resources of the Hydra. Each of 
the Senators, in the time of the Punic war, had accomplished 
his term of military service, either in a subordinate or a supe- 
rior station, and the decree, which invested with temporary 
command all those who had been consuls, or censors, or 
dictators, gave the Republic the immediate assistance of many 
brave and experienced generals. In the beginning of the war, 
the Roman people consisted of two hundred and fifty thousand 
citizens of an age to bear arms. Fifty thousand had already 
died in the defence of their country ; and the twenty-three 
legions, which were employed in the different camps of Italy, 
Greece, Sardinia, Sicily and Spain, required about one hun- 
dred thousand men. But there still remained an equal number 
in Rome, and the adjacent territory, who were animated by the 
same intrepid courage. And every citizen was trained, from 
his earliest youth, in the discipline and exercise of a soldier. 
Hannibal was astonished by the constancy of the Senate, 
who, without raising the siege of Capua, or recalling their 
scattered forces, expected his approach. He encamped on the 
banks of the Anio, at the distance of three miles from the city : 
and he was soon informed, that the ground on which he had 



HISTORICAL READER. 115 

pitched his tent, was sold for an adequate price at a public 
auction ; and that a body of troops was dismissed by an oppo- 
site road, to reinforce the legions of Spain. He led his 
Africans to the gates of Rome, where he found three armies 
in order of battle, prepared to receive him ; but Hannibal 
dreaded the event of a combat, from which he could not hope 
to escape, unless he destroyed the last of his enemies ; and 
his speedy retreat confessed the invincible courage of the 
Romans." 

Hannibal received the summons, to return to Carthage, with 
groans, and almost with tears. During sixteen years, he had 
kept that country under continual alarms. " Now," he said, 
" the Senate openly and expressly recall me ; but they have 
been dragging me away ever since they refused to send me 
supplies of men and money. The Romans, whom I have so 
often routed, have not vanquished Hannibal. It is the Cartha- 
ginian Senate, that, by detraction and envy, have overcome 
me." 

The two heroes met on the plains of Zama, and the invete- 
rate enemy of Rome now proposed terms of peace. "Here, in 
Africa, 1, who became master of the greatest part of your 
country, am come to treat with a Roman for my country's 
preservation. Such are the sports of fortune. Is she then to 
be trusted because she smiles? An advantageous peace is 
preferable to the hope of victory." The conditions were not 
accepted. The victory was contended for on both sides with 
the utmost coolness, sagacity, and courage. After a dreadful 
slaughter of 20,000 Carthaginians, the Romans were success- 
ful, and Carthage was reduced to the hard necessity of 
renouncing all claims to Spain, Sicily, and Sardinia, and 
was also required to surrender all her ships of war, except ten, 
which number she was never to exceed ; to engage never to 
commence any war out of Africa, or even within that conti- 
nent, without leave from the Roman -people ; and to pay a large 
annual tribute as a token of her subjection. Thus ended the 
second Punic war. 

Hannibal, the greatest general of ancient times, was obliged 
to become an exilje from the country which he had served 
with unwearied iidelity. He (led to Antioehus, king of Syria, 
who, being conquered by the Romans, treacherously stipulated 
to deliver the fugitive into their hands. Apprised of the terms 
on which the peace was concluded, he sought and obtained 
refuge in the court of Prusias, king of Bythinia. His relent- 
less enemies did not allow him to rest in peace. The Seriate 



116 HISTORICAL READER. 

received intelligence of the place of his abode, and immediately 
sent ambassadors to demand him of Prusias. The king was 
unwilling to betray Hannibal, and violate the laws of hospi- 
tality ; but, at the same time, he dreaded the power of Rome. 
Hannibal extricated him from his embarrassment, and when 
he heard that his house was besieged on every side, and all 
means of escape fruitless, he took a dose of poison, which he 
always carried with him in a ring on his finger; and as he 
breathed his last, he exclaimed, " We deliver Rome from her 
perpetual fears and disquiet, since she has not the patience to 
wait for the death of an old man." He died in his seventieth 
year. B. C. 182. 

Hannibal was a consummate general, and he also distinguished 
himself by his studies. Fie was well versed in Grecian literature, 
and wrote several books in this language on different subjects. 
He made himself also conspicuous as a statesman. He was 
the friend of the people, and on this account was perpetually 
thwarted in all his measures by the jealousy of the nobility — 
a feeling which, in the end, proved fatal to Carthage itself; for 
had they yielded to his repeated solicitations for reinforcements, 
Scipio would, probably, have never been allowed to carry the 
war into Africa. Hannibal freed Carthage from the tyranny 
of the perpetual judges; he obliged the nobles to account for 
the public money, which they had embezzled, and he prevented 
an unnecessary and oppressive tax from being imposed on the 
people. This great man, when he was obliged to go into 
banishment, departed, lamenting the misfortunes of his country 
more than his own. 

"He left the name, at which the world grew pale, 
To point a moral, or adorn a tale." 

Ten years after the conclusion of the second Punic war, 
the Romans took up arms against Antiochus the Great, king 
of Syria, the most powerful monarch of his time. His empire 
extended through the various states of Asia Minor as far as the 
yEgean sea. The conduct ol this war was committed to 
Lucius Scipio, brother of Scipio Africanus, and this illustrious 
hero did not disdain to assume the character of lieutenant on 
this occasion. The war was brought to a triumphant conclu- 
sion in two years from its commencement, and Antiochus was 
condemned, in future, to regard mount Taurus as the farthest 
limits of his authority to the west, and to pay a yearly fine of 
2 ; 000 talents to the Romans. His revenues being unequal to 



HISTORICAL READER. 117 

discharge the heavy tribute, he attempted to plunder the temple 
of Belus, in Susiana, which act of impiety so much incensed 
the inhabitants, that they killed him, with his followers. B.C. 
187. As a king, he was humane and liberal, the patron of 
learning, and the friend of merit ; and he published an edict, 
ordering his subjects never to obey, except his commands were 
consistent with the laws of his country. Of the three sons 
who survived, two were kept as hostages by the Romans, and 
his grandson, Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria, is well 
known from his atrocious cruelty to the Jews, of winch we 
have a very interesting, but shocking, account in the books of 
the Maccabees. This tyrant, whom the Jews called Epimanes, 
or furious, on many occasions degraded the dignity of bis sta- 
tion. He was fond of childish diversions, and sometimes 
amused himself by emptying bags of money into the streets, 
that he might witness the eagerness and struggles of the people 
in gathering it ; he spent large sums of money in perfumery ; 
he sometimes danced among the stage players ; and he invited 
all the Greeks in Antioch to an entertainment, and waited upon 
them as a servant, and then acted the part of a hired mimic 
and dancer. 

After the defeat of Antiochus the Great, the Romans 
regarded the kings of Syria as their vassals, and when that 
capricious tyrant, (of whose follies and cruelties some account 
has just been given,) on one occasion, hesitated to obey the 
commands of the Senate, one of the ambassadors drew a circle 
round him with a rod on the floor, and told him, " that he should 
not leave the spot, till he had received and promised to fulfil 
the orders of the Roman government." 

After the successful termination of this Syrian war, one of 
the tribunes brought an accusation against Scipio Africanus, of 
embezzling the public money, and taking bribes of Anti- 
ochus. This great man, though incapable of such a crime, 
had rendered himself obnoxious to the people by manifesting 
a contemptuous disregard for their rights. Scipio appeared, 
and said, "In this book," taking it from his bosom, "is con- 
tained an exact account of the expenses of the Republic, and 
the spoils of the enemy." "Read it then," replied the 
tribune, "and let us be satisfied." "That I will never do; 
Scipio will never defend himself, before the Roman people, 
from so base and inglorious a charge." He immediately 
tore the book to pieces. 

Scipio, on this occasion, forgot the relation in which he 
stood to the Roman people. Every man, who accepts any 



118 HISTORICAL READER. 

office from the State, should consider himself as its servant? 
and bound to render up a strict account of the manner in 
which he has performed the duties of his trust. The honors 
and emoluments which he receives are an adequate remunera- 
tion for his services. A degree of self-respect, a dignified 
behavior, are highly laudable, but no servant of the people has 
a right to plume himself on his merits, to wrap himself in his 
own conscious integrity, and refuse to plead at the tribunal of 
public opinion. 

Another day was appointed for hearing the charge of the 
justly offended tribune. The imaginary crimes of Scipio 
were set forth with every circumstance calculated to excite 
the indignation of the Plebeians. He came, attended with 
a numerous train of dependants and friends, to the rostrum, 
and silence being obtained, he said, " Tribunes of the people, 
and you Romans: to-day is the anniversary on which I 
fought a pitched battle, in Africa, with Hannibal and the 
Carthaginians, and defeated our enemies. As, therefore, it 
is but decent that a stop be put for this day, to litigation 
and wrangling, I will immediately go 'to the Capitol, there 
to return my acknowledgments to Jupiter supremely good 
and great, to Juno, Minerva, and the other deities presiding 
over the Capitol and the Citadel, and will give them thanks, 
for having, on this day, and at many other times, endowed me 
both with the will and ability to perform extraordinary services 
to the Commonwealth. Such of you, also, Romans, as can 
conveniently, come with me, and beseech the gods that you 
may have commanders like myself ; since, from my seventeenth 
year to old age, you have always anticipated my years with 
honors, and I, your honors, with services." Accordingly, he 
went up from the rostrum to the' Capitol ; and the whole assem- 
bly followed him; insomuch that at last even the clerks and 
messengers left the tribunes, not one remaining except the 
slaves who attended them, and the crier, whose office it was to 
summon those who were under prosecution. This was cer- 
tainly an extraordinary speech for a man summoned before 
the public to vindicate himself from a charge of embezzlement, 
and it manifests a degree of Patrician pride and arrogance, 
which no services to the State, however eminent, could justify. 
A. man of his" imperious character, splendid talents, and 
soaring ambition, is a dangerous member of a Republic, and 
will seldom neglect to improve any opportunity to encroach on 
the liberties of his country. The people are naturally jealous 
of their rights, and.they view with just suspicion the conduct of 



HISTORICAL READER. 119 

their most eminent servants, who manifest, by their demeanor, 
or opinions, an aversion from civil liberty and republican 
equality. But the people are not ungrateful. Passion and 
prejudice may, for a moment, lead them to carry feelings of 
resentment beyond what their cool judgment approves, yet, the 
history of the world certifies, that, notwithstanding the com- 
mon charge of republican ingratitude, circulated by the sub- 
jects of lords and kings, the people have, in general, by an 
excess of confidence and gratitude, yielded themselves up in 
subjection to the objects of their blind admiration. On this 
occasion, their deep sense of Scipio's services, recounted with 
so much Patrician superciliousness, and contemptuous disre- 
gard of the majesty of the law, overcame every other feeling, 
and hurried them on generously to share in his proud and 
ostentatious gratitude to the gods of his country. But they 
could not, in their calmer hours, forget the insult which he had 
offered them, in turning to his own triumph the accusation of 
their tribunes, and in destroying the record which they had a 
right to examine. This was the last day that shone with lustre 
on Scipio Africanus. Pie was again cited to answer to the 
same accusations. " But his natural temper and spirit," says 
Livy, "were so lofty, that he would not submit to act the part 
of an accused person, or stoop to the humble deportment of 
such a state. He withdrew from the city, and passed the re- 
mainder of his life at Liternum, without a wish to revisit Rome; 
and it is said, that when he was dying, he ordered his body to 
be buried at his country-seat, and his monument to be erected 
there, that even his funeral should not be performed in his 
ungrateful country. He was a man of eminent merit, but 
that merit was more conspicuous in affairs of war, than those 
of peace." 



CHAPTER XV, 



T. Q. FLAMINIUS, LUCIUS MUMMIUS, AND CATO THE CENSOR* 
MACEDON, CORIKTH, AND CARTHAGE. 

B. C. 198. — B. C. 145. The successful issue of the second 
Punic war had greatly increased the extent of the Roman 
empire. The Romans now made rapid progress in their 
conquests, always artfully procuring assistance from the 
States contiguous to those with which they were at war. 
The defeat of Antiochus, mentioned in the last chapter, took 
place after the reduction of Macedon ; it was introduced out 
of the regular chronological order, because it forms a part of 
the transactions of the life of Scipio. 

It is not necessary to enter into the causes of the war with 
Philip of Macedon, who was the son of Demetrius, great grand- 
son of Antigonus, one of the captains of Alexander the Great. 
Rome perceived that Macedon and the different States of 
Greece, at variance with one another, would not only be 
richer prizes, but of easier acquisition than the Western na- 
tions. Determined upon extending her dominions, it was easy 
to find a pretext for war. After various successful encounters 
with Philip, Flaminius was sent over to Macedon, and in his 
expedition he met with extraordinary success. The Greeks 
gradually became his firm supporters, and he totally defeated 
Philip on the confines of Epirus, and made all Locris, Phocis, 
and Thessaly tributary to the Roman power. He granted 
peace to the conquered monarch, on terms, however, subver- 
sive of his independence. It was stipulated in the articles of 
peace, drawn up by the Senate, that he must evacuate all the 
Greek cities in which he had garrisons : deliver up all his ships, 
that have decks, except five ; never have above 5,000 men in 
pay ; never make use of elephants in his armies, nor wage 
war out of Macedon, without the consent of the Romans, and 
that he must pay the Republic 1,000 talents. It was also 
ordered, that all the cities of the Greeks, both in Europe and 
Asia, should be restored to perfect liberty, and be governed 



HISTORICAL READER. 121 

only by their own laws. For the performance of these hard 
conditions, hostages were received, and, in the number was the 
king's own son. 

"The stated solemnity of the Isthmian games (says Livy) 
was at hand. These have ever been attended by very nume- 
rous meetings, for two reasons : first, in consequence of the 
universal fondness of the Corinthians for shows, wherein are 
seen trials of skill in arts of every kind, besides contests in 
strength and swiftness of foot ; and secondly, because people 
can go thither from every quarter of Greece by means of the 
two opposite seas. But on this occasion, all were led, by an 
eager curiosity, to learn what was thenceforward to be the 
state of Greece, and what their own condition ; while many, at 
the same time, formed opinions within themselves, but uttered 
their conjectures in conversation. The Romans took their 
seats, as spectators ; and a herald, preceded by a trumpeter, 
according to custom, advanced into the centre of the theatre, 
where notice of the commencement of the games is usually 
given, in a set form of words. Silence being commanded by 
the sound of a trumpet, he uttered aloud the following procla- 
mation : ' The Senate and People of Rome, and Titus Quintus, 
their general, having subdued Philip and the Macedonians, do 
hereby order that the following States be free, independent, and 
ruled by their own laws ; the Corinthians, Phocians, and all 
the Locrians ; the island of Eubsea and the Magnesians; the 
Thessalians, Perhsebians, and the Achaeans of Phthiotis. 5 
He then read a list of all the States which had been under 
subjection to king Philip. The joy occasioned by hearing 
these words of the herald was so great, that the people's minds 
were unable to conceive the matter at once. Scarcely could 
they believe that they had heard them ; and they looked at each 
other with amazement, as if all were the illusion of a dream. 
Each inquired of others about what immediately concerned 
himself. Every one being desirous, not only of hearing, but 
of seeing, the messenger of liberty, the herald was called out 
again, and he again repeated the proclamation. ~When they 
were thus assured of the reality of the joyful tidings, they 
raised such a shout, and clapping of hands, and repeated them 
so often, as clearly demonstrated, that of all earthly blessings 
none is more grateful to the people than liberty. The games 
were then hurried through ; for neither the thoughts nor the 
eyes of any attended to the exhibitions, so entirely had the 
single passion of joy pre-occupied their minds, as to exclude 
the sense of all other pleasures. 

11 



122 HISTORICAL READER. 

"But when the games were finished, every one eagerly 
pressed towards the Roman general ; so that by the crowd 
rushing to one spot, all wishing to come near him, and to 
touch his right hand, and throwing garlands and ribbons, he 
was in some degree of danger. He was then about thirty- 
three years of age ; he had all the vigor of youth, but the 
grateful sensations, excited by acknowledgments so eminently 
glorious to him, increased his strength. Nor did the general 
exultation last only for that day ; but, through the space of 
many days, was continually revived by sentiments and ex- 
pressions of gratitude. There was a nation in the world, they 
said, which, at its own expense, with its own labor, and at its 
own risk, waged wars for the liberty of others. And this it 
performed, not merely for contiguous states, or near neighbors, 
or for countries that made part of the same continent ; but even 
crossed the seas for the purpose, that no unlawful power 
should subsist on the face of the whole earth; but that justice, 
right, and law, should every where have sovereign sway. 
By one sentence, pronounced by a herald, all the cities of 
Greece and Asia, had been set at liberty. To have conceived 
hopes of this, argued a daring spirit ; to have carried it into 
effect, was a proof of the most consummate bravery and good 
fortune." 

It is impossible to read this account, and not sympathize with 
the feelings of this once glorious people. A more animating 
spectacle can scarcely be imagined. The Roman people had 
now a rare opportunity of reaping everlasting garlands of true 
glory, of achieving triumphs worthy of being chronicled on 
monuments more durable than brass. And had Flaminius 
been sincere in his professions, he would not only " have 
increased his strength," but all his intellectual and moral 
powers would have expanded, and his soul experienced sensa- 
tions of exquisite and enviable delight. But alas! all was false 
and hollow. The Romans boasted that they came to improve 
their state, to free them from the yoke of bondage, when, in" 
reality, they fought for power, for plunder, and extended rule. 
They offered them their protection, but it was such protection 
as vultures give to lambs — covering and devouring them. 
Wherever they paused in amity, affliction mourned their 
friendship. 

Had Rome, observes Hooke, seized upon Greece at this time, 
it is probable she could not have held it long. The Greeks, 
always jealous of their liberty, would have been easily stirred 
up to revolt by Philip; and a dangerous combination might 



HISTORICAL READER. 123 

soon have been formed against the Republic, by Greece and 
Macedon, in which the king of Syria, and several Asiatic 
provinces, would in all likelihood have joined, to put a stop to 
the encroachments of Rome. 

Fifty years after this splendid exhibition, the Greeks bitterly 
experienced how much they had been deceived by the plausible 
professions of the Romans. In the pursuit of their boundless 
ambition, the Italians made no distinction between ancient 
friends and ancient enemies, states from which they had 
received the most important services, and those by which 
they had suffered the most terrible calamities. The Achseans, 
who had, contrary to the orders of the Romans, taken up arms 
against the Lacedemonians, and vanquished them, were attack- 
ed and defeated by the Roman general Metellus, and the consul 
Mummius soon ended the war. He advanced to Corinth, and 
found the gates open. All who had fled thither from the field 
of battle, and most of the citizens, had quitted the city in the 
night. All the men found in the city were massacred, and the 
women and children sold into slavery. Having plundered the 
city of its statues, paintings, and most valuable effects, he set 
fire to it, and reduced it to a heap of ashes. The walls were 
afterwards demolished, and the lands of the Corinthians given 
to the Sicyonians : such was the decree of the Senate. 
Mummius afterwards seized those of the Corinthians, who 
had fled out of the city, and sold them all for slaves. 

Thebes and Chalcis were both razed to the ground by the 
consul, who also disarmed the inhabitants, and demolished the 
walls of the other^towns, that had taken part with the Achaaans 
in this war. Commissioners from Rome arrived, and abolish- 
ed, in all the cities of Greece, the popular government, and 
placed over them magistrates, in their interest, chosen from 
among the richest of the citizens. They likewise suppressed 
all national assemblies. Greece became now a Roman pro- 
vince, under the name of Achaia, and a praetor was annually 
sent to govern it. 



Greece, which so tamely submitted to the Roman yoke, 
had, a little more than three centuries before driven back 
with ignominy two millions of Persian invaders. Marathon, 
Thermopylae, Salarrfis, Platea, Mycale, are renowned and 
consecrated by the ever memorable achievements of the 
sons of liberty, under the wise and intrepid conduct of Miltia- 
des, Leonidas, Themistocles, Aristides, and Xantippus. But, 



124 HISTORICAL READER. 

at length, the violence and rage of party disputes, the lust of 
power, and an engrossing regard to private interest, almost 
extinguished every patriotic feeling and noble sentiment. 
Having defeated their common enemy, the different states of 
Greece fought against each other, for the ascendancy, with 
murderous rapine and seditious strife ; and, thus, at the period 
of the ambitious projects of Philip, and his son, Alexander, 
they were so much weakened by the losses which they had 
sustained in their unnatural conflicts, and by the factious spirit 
of rival parties in their respective states, that they could not 
resist the progress of the Macedonian phalanx. The fervid 
and patriotic eloquence of Demosthenes was unavailing, and 
the battle of Cheronsea was the final period of the liberties of 
Greece. 

Greece is included between the thirty-sixth and forty-first 
degrees of northern latitude, and is surrounded by seas, except 
where it borders upon Epirus and Macedonia. These two 
provinces were inhabited by a people who participated of the 
same origin as the Greeks, were of similar manners, and 
similar religion, and spoke a dialect of the same language, but 
there were various circumstances, that tended to hold the more 
southern Greeks, though divided under numerous governments, 
still united as one people, to the exclusion of the Epirots and 
Macedonians. 0£ what was universally allowed to be Greece, 
Thessaly was the most northern province. Macedonia, peo- 
pled by the same Pelasgian race, which principally gave 
origin to the Greeks, and brought afterwards under the 
dominion of a Grecian colony, claimed always to be a part of 
Greece. The innumerable clans who shared that extensive 
continent, being in a state of perpetual warfare among one 
another, the situation of the Macedonians when the Argive 
adventurers arrived among them, might be such as to make 
them glad to associate strangers, whose skill in arms and 
general knowledge was superior to their own. While civil 
and military pre-eminence was therefore yielded to the new 
comers, and royalty became established in the family of their 
chief, the name of the ancient inhabitants, as the more nume- 
rous, remained. In the course of six or seven reigns, the 
Macedonians extended their dominion over the neighboring 
provinces of Pieria, Bottieea, Mygdonia, part of Peeonia, Eordia, 
Almopia, Anthemous, Grestonia, and Bisaltia ; all, together 
with Emathia or Macedon proper, forming what acquired the 
name of Lower Macedonia, which extended from Mount 
Olympus to the river Strymon. 



HISTORICAL READER. 125 

While wars, almost unceasing, with savage neighbors, and 
frequent rebellions of conquered subjects, prevented the pro- 
gress of civilization among the Macedonians, the weakness of 
the prince, and the wants of the people, concurred to encourage 
Grecian establishments on the coast. But in so little estima- 
tion was Macedonia held by the Greeks at the time of the 
Persian wars, that when Alexander, son of Amyntas, offered 
himself as a competitor for the prize of the stadium at the 
Olympic games, it was objected to him that he was a barbarian. 
But his claims were on examination admitted. Caranus, an 
Argive, was the first who established any permanent sovereign- 
ty in Macedon. B. C. 800. After various revolutions, the 
extensive empire of the Persians, (founded by Cyrus, who 
destroyed the Babylonian kingdom B. C. 550,) which had 
spread over all the western part of Asia, comprehended Mace- 
donia. Persia threatened all the eastern parts of Europe with 
subjection. During the Persian invasion of Greece, Macedonia 
furnished Xerxes and Darius with 200,000 recruits, a circum- 
stance which greatly enhances the heroic bravery of the small, 
but fearless band of Grecian patriots, whose marvellous exploits 
have imprinted on the friends of liberty, in all succeeding ages, 
the ennobling conviction, that union and perseverance may 
withstand innumerable hosts of mercenary troops. It was this 
firm persuasion (we may believe) that animated the soul of the 
immortal Washington — great in his triumphs, and still greater 
in his reverses ; who showed the grandeur of his mind, when 
repulsed ; who arrayed himself in fresh honors after every 
defeat; who could not only subdue an enemy, but, what is 
infinitely more, could subdue misfortune ; who, in the face of 
hostile prowess, in the midst of mutiny and treason, surrounded 
with astonishment, irresolution, and dependence, remained 
erect, unmoved, invincible. Americans ! the God who raised 
up Washington, and gave you liberty, exacts from you the 
duty of cherishing it with a zeal according to knowledge. 
Never sully, by apathy or outrage, your fair inheritance. 
Risk not for one moment, on visionary theories, the solid 
blessings of your lot. To you, particularly, O, youth of 
America, applies the solemn charge. In all the perils of 
your country, remember Washington. The freedom of rea- 
son and of right, has been handed down to you on the point of 
the hero's sword. Guard, with veneration, the sacred deposit. 
The curse of ages will rest upon you, O, youth of America, if 
ever you surrender, to foreign ambition, or domestic lawless- 
ness, the precious liberties for which Washington and youx 
fathers bled. 11* 



128 HISTORICAL KEADEB. 

After the hasty retreat of the Persians, Macedon became a 
prey to civil dissentions. At length, Philip (who had been 
carried off as a hostage by the great Pelopidas, and who pro- 
bably attended the equally lenowned Epaminondas in his 
expeditions) ascended the Macedonian throne, and soon con- 
vinced the Greeks, that he had well availed himself of the 
advantages which he had possessed under the conduct of these 
two celebrated generals. He took from the Athenians their 
colonies bordering on his territories, and left to his son Alex- 
ander to complete the conquest of the whole of Greece, which 
he had nearly subdued by his policy and his arms. Alexander, 
the pupil of Aristotle, (the most celebrated philosopher of the 
age,) having conquered Thrace and Illyricum, totally defeated 
the Thebans and Athenians, and laid Thebes in ruins. He 
was chosen chief commander of all the forces of Greece. 
He crossed the Hellespont, defeated the Persians at the river 
Granicus, aud again at Issus, overran Syria, destroyed Tyre, 
marched to Jerusalem, (and according to Josephus granted 
particular privileges to the Jews,) subdued Egypt, and founded 
the city of Alexandria ; advanced intoLybia to visit the temple 
of Jupiter Ammon ; crossed the Euphrates, and the Tigris, 
where, having gained a complete victory over Darius, he took 
Babylon, and thus destroyed the Persian empire, which had 
lasted, from its first establishment under Cyrus the Great, 206 
years. During his residence at Babylon, he abandoned him- 
self to intemperance, assumed the manners and dress of the 
Persians, put to death several of his best friends, Parmenio, 
Clitus, and Callisthenes, and ordered divine honors to be paid 
to him as a god. Satiated with luxurious indulgence, he 
pursued his conquests, defeated an army of the Scythians, 
conquered Porus, a powerful Indian king, and advanced as far 
as the Hyphasus, subduing many nations in his progress. 
His soldiers refusing to follow him as far as the Ganges, he 
returned to Babylon, where his intemperance threw hjm into a 
fever, of which he died in the thirty-third year of his age, and 
twelfth of his reign. B. C. 324. 

After his death the empire was divided into thirty-three 
governments, which were distributed among the different 
commanders, each of whom resolved to make himself abso- 
lute ; while Perdiccas (to whom Alexander in his last moments 
had given his ring, was made regent) proposed to subdue them 
all one after another. They soon engaged in fierce and bloody 
wars, in which acts of the most horrid perfidy and cruelty 
were committed. The whole family of Alexander were at 



HISTORICAL READER. 127 

different times sacrificed to the ambition of his generals, and 
few of themselves died a natural death. Such were the effects 
of the unjust conquests of Alexander. 

Cassander, appointed general of the horse, having destroyed 
the royal family, became king of Macedon. After his death, 
a constant succession of revolutionary movements distracted 
the kingdom, till the time of Philip, who was conquered by the 
Romans. 

Thessaly is the most northern province of the country 
universally known by the name of Greece. It is an extensive 
vale, of uncommon fertility, completely surrounded by very 
lofty mountains. On the north, Olympus, beginning at the 
eastern coast, divides it from Macedonia. Contiguous ridges 
extend to the Ceraunian mountains, which form the northern 
boundary of Epirus, and terminate against the western sea, 
in a promontory called Acroceraunus, famed for its height 
and storms. Pindus forms the western boundary of Thessaly, 
and (Eta, the southern. Between the foot of mount CEta and 
the sea, is the famous pass of Thermopylae, the only way, on 
the eastern side of the country, by which the southern provin- 
ces can be entered. The lofty, though generally narrow 
ridge of Pelion, forming the coast, spreads in branches to 
CEta, and is connected by Ossa with Olympus. The tract 
extending from Epirus and Thessaly to the Corinthian isth- 
mus, and the gulfs on each side of it, contains the provinces of 
Acarnania, iEtolia, Doris, Locris, Phocis, Boeotia, and Attica. 
Many branches from the vast ridges of Pindus and (Eta 
spread themselves through this country. iEtolia is every 
where defended by mountains, with difficulty passable ; ex- 
cepting that the sea bounds it on the south, and the river 
Achelous divides a small part of its western frontier from 
Acarnania. Doris is almost wholly mountainous. The 
ridge of Parnassus effectually separated the eastern and 
western Locrians. Phocis had one highly fruitful plain, 
but of small extent. Boeotia consists principally of a rich 
vale w r ith many streams and lakes; bounded on the north-east 
by the Opuntian gulf, touching southward on the Corinthian, 
and otherwise mostly surrounded by the mountains Parnassus, 
Helicon, Cithseron, and Parnes. The two latter formed the 
northern boundary of Attica ; a rocky, barren province, little 
fruitful in corn and less in pasture, but producing many fruits, 
particularly olives and figs, in abundance and perfection. 

Southward of this tract lies the peninsula of Peloponesus, not 
to be approached by land except across the Boeotian or Attic 



128 HISTORICAL READER. 

mountains, which on each side of the isthmus, rise precipitous 
from the sea, and shoot into the isthmus itself. The peninsula, 
according to the division of Strabo, contains Achaia, Argolis, 
Elis or Elia, Arcadia, Messenia, and Laconia. Arcadia, the 
central province, is a cluster of mountains, bearing, however, 
as on their shoulders, some plains, high above the level of the 
sea. Lofty ridges, the principal of which are the Taygetus 
and Zarex, branch through Laconia, to the two most southern 
promontories of Greece, Tsenarum, and Malea. Between 
these the Eurotas runs; the vales are rich, but no where ex- 
tensive. From Cyllene, the most northern and highest of the 
Arcadian mountains, two other branches extend in a south- 
easterly direction ; one to the Argolic gulf, the other, by Epi- 
daurus, to the Scyllaean promontory, the most easterly point 
of the peninsula. They include the vale of Argos, remarkable 
for fruitfulness. Achaia is a narrow strip of country on the 
northern coast, pressed upon by the mountains in its whole 
length from Corinth to Dyme. It must be observed, that the 
Corinthian territory, and the Sicyonian, w r ere distinct from that 
properly called Achaia, and, till a late period, were included 
under the name. Elis and Messenia are less mountainous 
than the other Peloponesian provinces. The latter, particu- 
larly is not only the most level of the peninsula, and the best 
adapted to tillage, but, in general produce, the most fruitful of 
all Greece. 

This country, so singularly illustrious in the annals of 
mankind, is scarcely half so large as England, and not equal 
to a fourth of France or Spain. But it has natural peculiari- 
ties which influenced not a little, both the manners and the 
political institutions of the inhabitants. 

Like Italy, or more than Italy, in large proportion a rough 
and intractable country, Greece nevertheless enjoyed many 
great and peculiar advantages. The climate is very various. 
The summer heat generally great : the winter cold, in some 
parts severe : but the former brings the finest fruits to perfec- 
tion ; the latter braces and hardens the bodies of the inhabitants, 
while the sea, no where very distant, assists extensively to 
temper both. The long winding range of coast abounds with 
excellent harbors. The low ground affords rich herbage ; the 
higher, corn, wine, and oil ; and the mountains, all producing 
pasture, some to a great extent, were covered with a variety of 
timber ; some formed of the finest marble ; some contained 
various valuable metals. And this variety in the surface, 



HISTORICAL READER. 129 

which gives occasion to such various produce, affords at the 
same time variety of climate in every season of the year. 

" Where'er we tread, 'tis haunted, holy ground, 

No earth of thine is lost in vulgar mould ; 
But one vast realm of wonder spreads around, 

And all the Muse's tales seem truly told, 
Till the sense aches with gazing to behold 

The scenes our earliest dreams have dwelt upon : 
Each hill and dale, each deepening glen and wold, 

Defies the power which crush' d thy temples gone, 
Age shakes Athena's tower, but spares gray Marathon." 

The different Grecian States, at a very early period, formed 
a Council, called, probably, from the name of its author, the 
Amphictyonic, at which deputies assembled to consult on the 
common interests of their constituents. Their ordinary place 
of meeting was a temple, dedicated to the goddess Ceres, near 
the mouth of the river Asopus, and the pass of Thermopylae. 
The superintendence of the religion of the Greek nation was 
more particularly its office. The view of the founders seems to 
have gone farther; to bring all disputes between Amphyctionic 
states before this tribunal, and to unite them in confederacy 
against the attacks of any foreign enemy. Contests between 
states were deemed proper objects of its jurisdiction ; but, the 
Amphictyonic council, amid the jealous claims of every Gre- 
cian city to absolute independence, was never able to preserve 
peace. Its proceedings were conducted with prudence and 
dignity. 

The Games of Greece are particularly celebrated by all 
its poets and historians. There were four consecrated by 
religion; the Olympic, Pythian, Isthmian, and Nemean. Of 
these the Olympic were the chief. The contests at all of them 
were much the same ; viz: running, leaping, wrestling, boxing, 
and throwing the discus, a kind of round quoit of stone, lead, 
or other metal, launched from a thong through a hole in the 
middle of it. The place where these contests were exhibited 
was called the Stadium. The prize was made of small value, 
that the combatants might be animated by the love of glory, 
and not of sordid gain. 

The most celebrated Court of Greece was the Areopagus 
This seat of justice was on a small eminence near Athens. 
The name, which signifies the hill of Mars, was given to it 
because all murders were under the cognizance of this court, 
or because Mars was the first who was tried there. It was 3 



130 HISTORICAL READER. 

probably, instituted by Cecrops, B. C. 1556, and its power 
was enlarged by Solon. B. C. 559. Pericles lessened its 
authority, from which time (B. C. 420) the morals of the 
Athenians degenerated, and the Areopagites (whose number 
is not known) lost their high character for justice and virtue. 
These judges decided on all cases of murder, arson, and trea- 
son. They also took cognizance of religious matters — 
blasphemy, contempt of the mysteries, the erection and con- 
secration of temples and altars, and the introduction of new 
ceremonies. They had the inspection and custody of the 
laws, the management of the public fund, the guardianship of 
young men, and the superintendence of their education. They 
had power to reward the meritorious, and punish the impious 
and immoral. Justly deeming idleness the cause of all vice, 
they did not. suffer it to go unpunished. They sat in the open 
air, and heard causes, and passed sentence in the night, that 
they might not be pre-possessed in favor of the plaintiff or 
defendant by seeing him. Whatever causes were pleaded 
before them, were divested of all oratory and fine speaking, 
lest eloquence should charm their ears, and corrupt their judg- 
ment. Hence arose the most just and impartial decisions, and 
their sentence was deemed sacred and inviolable — In a court 
of justice the arts of oratory are surely unbecoming. Is it 
there, that men should strive " to make the worse appear the 
better reason, to perplex and dash maturest counsels?" 

The Gymnasia were large edifices, consisting of various 
parts, fit to contain many thousands of people at once, with 
proper places for the youth to perform their different exercises; 
and apartments for philosophers, rhetoricians, and all the 
professors of the liberal arts, to deliver their lectures, sur- 
rounded with a garden and sacred grove. The chief Gymnasia 
in and near Athens were, the Academia, Lyceum, and Cyno- 
sarges. 

The Academia was named from a person called Academus. 
It contained a gymnasium, a garden, and a grove, surrounded 
with walls, and adorned with delightful covered walks. It lay 
near the rivers Cephissus and Colonos. Near this Plato had 
his residence, on a farm belonging to himself. In the academy 
he taught his scholars, whence his followers were called 
Academics. 

The Lyceum lay on the opposite side of the city, along the 
banks of the Ilissus. Here was a temple of Apollo. Aristotle, 
the scholar of Plato, after his return to Athens from the tuition 
of Alexander, chose the Lyceum as the place for his school; 



HISTORICAL READER. 131 

and because he taught those who attended him walking, he 
was called the Peripatetic. Aristotle was succeeded by his 
scholar, Theophrastus. 

The Cynosarges lay a little north of the Lyceum, on a 
rising ground, containing a gymnasium, a temple of Hercules, 
and a sacred grove. It is said to have been named from a dog 
which snatched away part of the sacrifice offered to Hercules. 
In this gymnasium foreigners, or citizens who had a foreigner 
for their mother, performed their exercises. Here Antisthenes, 
the philosopher, taught his opinions, and hence according to 
some, he was called the Cynic, or according to others, he 
obtained the name from his snarling humor. And from him 
philosophers, distinguished by their rusticity and rudeness of 
manners, are called Cynics. Antisthenes went every day to 
Athens to hear the lectures of Socrates, who said to him, 
" Through your rags, I see your vanity." Diogenes succeed- 
ed Antisthenes. He wore a coarse cloak, carried a wallet and a 
staff, made the porticos and other public places his habitation, 
and depended upon casual contributions for subsistence. Being 
disappointed of procuring a cell, he took up his abode in a 
tub. When Alexander the Great asked him if there was any 
service he could render him ; " Yes," said Diogenes, "not to 
stand between me and the sun," The most distinguished 
philosopher of this sect after Diogenes, was Crates, whose 
scholar was Zeno, the founder of the Stoics. The moral 
doctrines of these two sects were nearly the same. The sect 
more directly opposed to the Stoics was that of the Epicureans, 
who had their name and origin from Epicurus. He taught 
that the happiness of mankind consisted in pleasure, not such, 
however, as arises from sensual gratifications, or from any kind 
of vice> but from the enjoyments of the mind, and the sweets 
of virtue. But his followers soon misrepresented and abused 
his principles, and Epicurism became a name for intemperance. 
When Cineas spoke of the tenets of the Epicureans in the 
Roman Senate, Fabricius prayed that all the enemies of Rome 
might become his followers. But not only many of the ene- 
mies of Rome, but the Romans themselves generally embraced 
the corrupted principles of the great and virtuous Athenian 
philosopher, and the conquerors of the world, enervated 
by pleasure, were subdued by the hardy barbarians of the 
North. 

The most celebrated legislators of Greece were Lycurgus, of 
Sparta or Lacedsemoti, Draco and Solon, of Athens. Lycur- 
gus (B. C. 926) copied his laws chiefly from those of Minos in 



132 HISTORICAL READER. 

Crete. The form of government under two kings was allowed 
to continue, but their authority was restricted by a Senate of 
twenty -eight members, nominated for life by the people, and 
by five Ephori created annually. He instituted an equal 
division of land, abolished the use of gold and silver, and 
ordained that all should eat in public. His chief attention 
was directed to the education of youth. At seven years of age 
they were taken from their parents, and entrusted to the charge 
of elderly men of the first rank in the city, who, by a rigid 
discipline, trained them up to obedience, to love their country, 
to respect the aged, to bear hardships, and to scorn danger. 
The Spartans were a nation of soldiers. Their chief employ- 
ment was hunting and bodily exercise. The ground was 
cultivated by the Helolre. The Helots were different from 
domestic slaves, of which there is said to have been a greater 
number, than in any other city of Greece. The Helots occu- 
pied a middle state between slaves and free citizens. Being 
the property of the public, they could not be sold, nor made 
free, but by public authority. They not only cultivated the 
ground, but served in the fleet and in the army. In the ranks 
every armed soldier was accompanied by one or more, some- 
times by seven of them. They were often treated with the 
greatest injustice and cruelty. Freedom having been publicly 
promised to such as had distinguished themselves most in the 
Peloponesian war, 2,000 claimed the proffered reward ; and 
the justness of their pretensions being admitted, they were led 
in solemn procession round the temples with chaplets of flowers 
on their heads. All these suddenly disappeared ; and it is said 
that their masters were charged to put them to death privately 
at their houses. The Spartans affixed no criminality to so 
atrocious an act of ingratitude, treachery, and cruelty. The 
institutions of Lycurgus are said to have continued in force 
700 years. 

The Athenians, agitated by discord under their Archons, 
and seeing the good effects of the institutions of Lycurgus, 
pitched upon Draco (B. C. 623) to draw up a system of laws 
for them. Their excessive severity caused these to be abolish- 
ed. Solon (B. C. 559) was their next legislator, and his laws 
continued in force while Athens remained a free State. The 
chief power was lodged in the hands of the people. 

Solon was one of the seven wise men of Greece. The other 
six were Thales of Miletus, Bias of Priene, Chilo of Sparta, 
Pittacus of Mytelene, Cleobiilus of Rhodes, and Periander of 
Corinth. Contemporary with these great men were, iEsop, 



HISTORICAL READER. 133 

the author of fables, and Anacharsis, the Scythian philosopher, 
and the poets, Simonides of Ceos, Orpheus of Croton, Sappho 
and Alcseus of Lesbos; and somewhat later, Anacreon, Pytha- 
goras, and Thespis. About the year B. C. 470, flourished 
Herodotus the historian, the poets Pindar and iEschylus, and 
the philosophers Anaxagoras, Empedocles, and Democritus. 

Socrates, the greatest of all the heathen philosophers, died 
about 400 B. C. His exemplary virtue, his superior talents, 
and the attachment of his pupils, excited the hatred of the 
Sophists, or pretenders to science. They first employed Aris- 
tophanes, the writer of comedies, to expose his character to 
ridicule on the stage. They brought him to a formal trial, and 
charged him with corrupting the youth, and introducing new 
deities. Socrates made a noble defence, but the faction of his 
enemies prevailed, and he was sentenced to drink hemlock, 
the usual mode of putting condemned criminals to death at 
Athens. During his imprisonment, which lasted thirty days, 
he behaved with extraordinary tranquillity of mind, and edified 
his friends, who came to visit him, with lectures on philosophy. 
He refused to avail himself of the opportunity to make his 
escape, from a regard to the laws of his country. He drank 
off the fatal cup without emptipn. It was not till some time 
after the death of this truly 'great man, that the Athenians 
became sensible of their error. Then, they were penetrated 
with shame and remorse for their injustice. 

" Slow sinks, more lovely ere his race be run, 
Along Morea's hills the setting sun ; 
Descending fast the mountain shadows kiss 
Thy glorious gulf, unconquer'd Salamis, 
Till, darkly shaded from the land and deep, 
Behind his Delphian cliff he sinks to sleep. 
On such an eve his palest beams he cast 
When — Athens ! here thy wisest looked his last. 
How watch' d thy better sons his farewell ray, 
That closed their murdered sages' latest day ! 
Not yet — not yet — Sol pauses on the hill — 
The precious hour of parting lingers still ; 
But sad his light to agonizing eyes, 
And dark the mountain's once delightful dyes. 
Gloom o'er the lovely land he seem'd to pour, 
The land where Phoebus never frown' d before ; 
But ere he sank below Cithaeron's head, 
The cup of woe was quaff 'd — the spirit fled ; 
The soul of him who scorn' d to fear or fly, 
Who lived and dW as few do live or die." 
12 



134 HISTORICAL READER. 

The most celebrated scholars of Socrates were Plato and 
Xenophon ; and contemporary with Socrates were the tragic 
poets, Sophocles and Euripides, Lysias the orator; Phidias and 
Scopas, architects and statuaries. 

T&e&es, the capital of Bceotia, built by Cadmus, thePhcenician, 
who first introduced letters into Greece, (1495 B. C.) was sur- 
rounded with walls forty-three stadia (or rather more than five 
miles) in circumference, and had seven gates. The govern- 
ment was for three centuries monarchial, but it became a 
republic about 1190 B. C. There were frequent contests 
between the favorers of oligarchy and democracy. The 
Thebans were looked upon as an indolent and sluggish na- 
tion ; there were, however, several great men born in the 
state of Boeotia. It was the native place of Bacchus and 
Hercules, of mythological celebrity ; and also of Pindar the 
poet, and the generals Pelopidas and Epaminondas. To the 
honor of Thebes it must be mentioned, that the exposing of 
children, usual in other parts of Greece, was prohibited by its 
laws; but, to its disgrace, it basely joined the Persians, when 
they invaded Greece. For this, the Thebans were severely 
punished by Pausanias. Afterwards, being jealous of the 
Athenians, and fearing their resentment, they formed an alli- 
ance with the Spartans, to whom they were of great assistance 
during the Peloponesian war, which lasted twenty-seven years, 
and at the termination of which the glory of Athens fell. The 
Lacedemonians, after their successful conclusion of this unna- 
tural strife for pre-eminence, (which is related by Thucidydes,) 
finding a favorable opportunity, reduced Thebes under their 
dominion, and established their form of government. But the 
valor and conduct of two men, Pelopidas and Epaminondas, 
restored its liberty, and it became for a short time the most 
powerful city in Greece. It was destroyed by Alexander the 
Great, and twenty years after rebuilt by Cassander. 

Corinth, founded in a very early age in the neighborhood 
of Sicyon, perhaps prevented the growth of the elder town. 
Near the south-western point of the neck that joins Peloponesus 
to northern Greece, and within the same rich plain in which 
Sicyon stood, a mountain ridge, scarcely three miles long, rises 
to a height, remarkable even in a country of lofty mountains. 
The summit is at the northern extremity : three sides are preci- 
pices almost perpendicular; and, even, on the fourth, ascent is 
difficult. A little beneath the pointed vertex is a plentiful 
source of pure water ; which, so situated, might help the poets 
to the fancy, that there the winged horse, Pegasus, drinking, 



HISTORICAL READER. 135 

was caught by Bellerophon. This most advantageous, and 
nearly impregnable post, by the name of Aerocorinthus, became 
the citadel ; and at its foot grew the town of Corinth, which, as 
early as Homer's time, was noted for wealth acquired by com- 
merce. For by land it was the key of communication between 
northern and southern Greece : and by sea it became, through 
its ports, one on the Saronic, the other on the Corinthian gulf, 
the emporium for all that passed between the east and the west, 
as far as Asia on the one side, and Italy and Sicily on the other; 
the passage round the southern promontories of Peloponesus 
being so dangerous, to coasting navigators, that it was gene- 
rally avoided. Among the early princes of Corinth were 
Sisyphus, Glaucus, and Bellerophon, names to which poetry 
has given fame, but which are not delivered down to us as 
objects of history. 

Corinth became, at an early period, an important commercial 
city. A limited monarchy was its first form of government, 
and this continued for three or four centuries. At length, an 
oligarchy was established. An annual magistrate presided, 
with the title of Pry tanis. Though oligarchies were generally 
odious and tyrannical, yet Corinth seems to have flourished 
under its various political institutions. After the aristocracy 
had existed for several generations, a monarchy was restored 
for a short time. The second king, Periander, is ranked among 
the seven sages of Greece. He is famed for his learning, abili- 
ties, and encouragement of literature. After the death of his 
son, a commonwealth was established, and Corinth is said to 
have had the happiest, though not the most renowned, govern- 
ment of Greece. The local circumstances of the city appear 
to have influenced the disposition of the people ; directing it to 
commerce and arts more than to politics, arms, or science, 
although in these they acquired not a little celebrity. 

Corinth was adorned with the most sumptuous buildings, as 
temples, palaces, theatres, porticos, and all enriched with beau- 
tiful columns of a flowery style of architecture, called the 
Corinthian order. Though the Corinthians seldom or never 
engaged in war with a view of enlarging their little State, they 
did not neglect military discipline, and they were prepared to 
protect the riches which they acquired in great abundance in 
their commercial transactions. When this splendid city was 
taken by Mummius, it was the strongest place in Greece. 
The inhabitants, however, were so much disheartened by the 
defeat which they had lately sustained, that they did not even 
shut their gates against the enemy. The spoils of the city 



136 HISTORICAL READER. 

exceeded all the avaricious expectations of the Roman soldiers. 
Innumerable vessels of the most precious materials, and of the 
finest work, many of the choicest productions of the pencil and 
the chisel, and an immense quantity of silver and gold, became 
the booty of these ruthless plunderers, who, though they had 
eyes to see the value of the precious metals, were utterly inca- 
pable of discerning the exquisite beauty of the fine statues and 
pictures, which adorned the temples and the palaces. Many 
of these inestimable pieces of the most famous painters and 
sculptors, were wantonly mutilated and defaced, and others 
were ignorantly sold for a small sum of money. Polybius, 
the historian, had the mortification to see some of the Roman 
soldiers playing at dice upon a picture of Bacchus, by Aristides, 
a chef d'oeuvre, accounted one of the wonders of the world. 
The soldiers willingly exchanged it for a table more convenient 
for their game. When the spoils of Corinth were put up for 
sale, Attalus, king of Pergamus, bought this picture for 600,000 
sesterces, about 1200 dollars. Mummius, beyond measure 
astonished, that a painting should fetch this sum, concluded 
that it must, of necessity, have some magical virtue, and, 
interposing his lawless authority, violently took it from the 
king, and conveyed it to Rome, and placed it in the temple of 
Ceres. Mummius gave another remarkable proof, that Mar- 
cellus had not been very successful in inspiring at Rome a 
taste for the fine arts. When the pictures and statues were 
put on board the transports, the destroyer of Corinth warned 
the masters of the vessels, that if any of these spoils were either 
lost or injured, they would be obliged to furnish others in their 
stead. 

u For knowledge to his eyes her ample page, 
Rich with the spoils of Time, did ne'er unfold." 

Without some portion of taste, an essential blank is left in 
the circle of our most refined enjoyments ; the intellectual 
frame of man is incomplete and mutilated. The lower animals, 
as far as we are able to judge, are entirely occupied with the 
objects of their external perceptions, and the case is nearly the 
same with the majority of our species. They have no con- 
ception of the beautiful and the sublime. They see nothing to 
excite their admiration in the most romantic scenes of nature, 
or the beautiful creations of genius. They have no soul to 
apprehend the world's harmonious volume, and the beautiful 
productions of the enlightened mind of man. One of the prin- 
cipal effects which a liberal education produces on the mind, 



HISTORICAL READER. 137 

is to accustom us to withdraw our attention from the gross 
objects of sense, and to direct it to those intellectual perceptions 
of external beauty, and those internal combinations, which de- 
light the imagination. 

And, in no part of our nature is the pure benevolence of 
Heaven more strikingly conspicuous than in our susceptibility 
of emotions of this class. The pleasure which they afford, is 
a pleasure that has no immediate connexion with the means 
of the preservation of our animal existence; and which shows, 
therefore, though all other proof were absent, that the Deity, 
who superadded these means of delight, must have had some 
other object in view, in forming us as we are, than the mere 
continuance of a race of beings who were to save the earth 
from becoming a wilderness. In consequence of these emotions, 
which have made all nature " beauty to our eye, and music to 
out ear ;" it is scarcely possible for us to look around, without 
feeling either some happiness or some consolation. Sensual 
pleasures soon pall even upon the profligate, who seeks them 
in vain in the means accustomed to produce them ; weary, 
almost to disgust, of the very pleasures which he seeks, and 
yet astonished that he does not find them. The labors of 
severer intellect, if long continued, exhaust the energy which 
they employ; and we cease, for a time, to be capable of think- 
ing accurately, from the very intenseness and accuracy of our 
thought. The pleasures of taste, however, by their variety of 
easy delight, are safe from the languor, which attends any 
monotonous or severe occupation, and instead of palling on 
the mind, they produce in it, with the very delight which is 
present, a quicker sensibility to future pleasure. Enjoyment 
springs from enjoyment; and, if we have not some deep wretch- 
edness within, it is scarcely possible for us, with the delightful 
resources which nature and art present to us, not to be happy 
as often as we will to be happy. 

" Oh, blest of Heaven ! whom not the languid songs 
Of luxury, the Siren, not the bribes 
Of sordid wealth, nor all the gaudy spoils 
Of pageant honor, can seduce to leave 
Those ever blooming sweets which from the store 
Of Nature fair imagination culls 
To charm th' enlivened soul! What tho' not all 
Of mortal offspring can attain the heights 
Of envy'd life, tho' only few possess 
Patrician treasures or imperial state; 
Yet Nature's care, to all her children just, 
12* 



138 HISTORICAL READER. 

With richer treasures, and an ampler state, 

Endows at large whatever happy man 

Will deign to use them. His the city T s pomp, 

The rural honors his : whatever adorns 

The princely dome, the column, and the arch, 

The breathing marbles and the sculptur'd gold, 

Beyond the proud possessors narrow claim, 

His tuneful breast enjoys. For him the spring 

Distills her dews, and from the silken gem 

Its lucid leaves unfolds; for him the hand 

Of Autumn tinges ev'ry fertile branch 

With blooming gold and blushes like the morn. 

Each passing hour sheds tribute from her wings, 

And still new beauties meet his lonely walk, 

And loves unfelt attract him. Not a breeze 

Flies o'er the meadow, not a cloud imbibes 

The setting sun's effulgence, not a strain 

From all the tenants of the warbling shade 

Ascends, but whence his bosom can partake 

Fresh pleasure unreproved : nor thence partakes 

Fresh pleasure only, for th' attentive mind 

By this harmonious action on her pow'rs 

Becomes herself harmonious : wont so oft 

In outward things to meditate the charm 

Of sacred order, soon she seeks at home 

To find a kindred order, to exert 

Within herself this elegance of love, 

This fair inspired delight : her temper'd pow'rs 

Refine at length, and every passion wears 

A chaster, milder, more attractive mien." 

Such is that universal possession of nature which the suscepti- 
bility of the emotions of taste conveys to us, — a possession, 
extending to an infinity of objects, which no earthly power 
can appropriate, and which enjoys even objects that have been 
so appropriated, with a possession more delightful than that 
which they afford, in many cases, to the listless eyes of their 
proud but discontented master. 



Cato — Carthage. — Before the third Punic war,Paulus 
JSmilius defeated Perseus, the son of Philip, king of Macedon, 
led the king in triumph to Rome, and reduced his kingdom to 
"the form of a Roman province, B. C. 168. 

Marcus Portius Cato, the Censor (at whose instigation the 
third Punic war began, and by whose inveterate and savage 



HISTOKICAL READER. 139 

hostility Carthage was demolished) was born about 232 B. C. 
He was temperate, brave, and indefatigable, and frugal of the 
public money. There is scarcely any talent requisite, for public 
or private life, which he had not received from nature, or 
acquired by industry. He was a great soldier, an able states- 
man, an eloquent orator, a learned historian, and a laborious 
agriculturist. Yet, with all these qualities, he had great faults. 
His ambition being poisoned with envy, disturbed both his own 
peace, and that of the whole city. Though a man of incor- 
ruptible integrity, and severe frugality, he became, as he 
advanced in years, extremely avaricious, and amassed wealth 
by every means which came within the verge of the laty. 
Harsh and rugged in his manners, he confounded luxury with 
the most honorable refinements of the human understanding. 
He was particularly earnest in his declamation against the 
sudy of Grecian literature; but in his old age, convinced of 
this absurd prejudice, he diligently applied himself to learn 
the most refined and expressive language which the art of man 
has invented. 

Plutarch has recorded many interesting particulars of the 
life and conversation of this remarkable man. He considered 
eloquence not only useful but necessary for every man, who 
does not choose to live obscure and inactive ; for which reason, 
he exercised and improved this talent in the neighboring bo- 
roughs and villages, by undertaking the causes of such as 
applied to him. After this exertion, he returned to his farm, 
and in a coarse frock, if it was winter, and almost without 
clothing in summer, he labored with the domestics, and after- 
wards sat down with them, and partook of the same fare. 

He was, at last, induced to go to Rome, where he so much 
distinguished himself by his oratory, that he rapidly rose to 
preferment. He was made tribune of the soldiers, and after- 
wards quaestor ; and having gained great reputation in these 
employments, he was exalted to the highest dignities. His 
excellence as a speaker excited a general emulation among the 
youth, but few were disposed to imitate him in the ancient 
custom of tilling the field with their own hands, in eating a 
dinner prepared without fire, and a spare frugal supper; few f 
like him, could be satisfied with a plain dress and a poor cot- 
tage, or think it more honorable not to want the superfluities 
of life, than to possess them. For the commonwealth now no 
longer retained its primitive purity and integrity, by reason of 
the vast extent of its dominions, which had introduced a great 
variety of customs and modes of living. 



140 HISTORICAL READER. 

Instead of making use of a carriage, he walked from one 
town to another, attended only by one officer, who carried his 
robe, and a vessel for libations. But, though remarkable for 
the simplicity of his manners and mode of life, and accessible 
to all under his authority, he manifested strictly a sense of 
self-respect, and a dignity of deportment ; and he was inexora- 
ble in whatever related to public justice, and inflexibly rigid 
in the execution of his orders. Faithful in the performance of 
all his trusts, he required the same fidelity from others. His 
courage, virtue, and talents made him consul and censor, and 
obtained a triumph. But he did not act afterwards like those 
whose ambition is only for fame, and not for virtue; and who, 
having reached the highest honors, withdrew from public 
business, and gave up the rest of their days to ease and plea- 
sure. On the contrary, like those who have just entered upon 
business, and thirst for honor and renown, he exerted himself, 
as if he was beginning his race anew; his services being 
always ready both for his friends in particular, and for citizens 
in general, either at the bar, or in the field. 

His conduct in this respect is worthy of all praise. In a 
republic, in particular, every man, however high he may have 
been raised, should always esteem himself bound, after the 
term of his great authority is expired, to fill any subordinate 
station to which h,e may be invited, and in which he believes 
he may serve his country. And, in the estimation of every 
true republican, there is in this man's condescension, real dig- 
nity of character. He is not degraded, but, in the eye of 
reason and of liberty, he is exalted. He dignifies the office, 
however low, which he fills ; he gains the increasing respect 
of his fellow-citizens, and what is of still greater consequence, 
he is elevated by the approbation of his own mind, rejoicing 
in any opportunity to be of service to his country. 

When Cato was a candidate for the censorship, the Patricians, 
imagining that it would be a disgrace to the nobility, if a person 
of obscure origin was elevated to the highest honor of the state, 
and dreading the austerity of Cato, put up seven competitors, 
and endeavored to soothe the people with the hopes of a mild 
censor. Without condescending to the least flattery or com- 
plaisance, he professed his resolution, should he be elected, to 
punish every instance of vice, loudly declared that the city 
wanted great reformation, and conjured the people, if they 
were wise, to choose not the most indulgent, but the severest 
physician. And to the honor of the Roman people, they 
elected the stern and inflexible Cato. And, though he made 



HISTORICAL READER. 141 

many enemies, by the severity of his measures, yet, such is 
the respect which virtue acquires, that the pedestal of his 
statue, erected in the temple of Health, records not his victories 
or his triumph, but mentions, to his honor, "that when the 
Roman commonwealth was degenerating into licentiousness, 
he, by his good discipline, and wise institutions, restored it." 
But before this statue was erected, he used to say to those 
who plumed themselves on their statues, " that the Romans 
bore about a more glorious image of him in their hearts ;" 
and to others, who expressed the wonder, that while persons 
of little note had their statues, he had none, he said, "he 
would much rather it should be asked, why he had not a 
statue, than why he had one." 

As soon as the dawn of understanding appeared in his son, 
Cato took upon him the office of schoolmaster, though he had 
a slave, who was a good grammarian, and taught several other 
children. Cato was his son's preceptor in grammar, law, and 
all the customary exercises. He taught him not only how to 
throw a dart, to fight hand to hand, and to ride; but also to 
box, to endure heat or cold, and to swim the most rapid rivers. 
He, also, wrote histories for him with his own hand in a large 
character, that, without stirring out of his father's house, his 
son might gain a knowledge of the great actions of the ancient 
Romans, and of the customs of his country. He was particu- 
larly careful not to utter in his son's presence, any word that 
might contaminate the purity of his mind. 

He regarded time as his estate, and was always intent on 
improving it. He never neglected his duties, merely to avoid 
the labor of performing them, a labor which is always punctu- 
ally rewarded. Idleness can never secure tranquillity, for the 
hours which are not devoted to the great business of existence, 
will be usurped by powers that will not leave them to a man's 
own disposal. Remorse and vexation will seize upon him, and 
forbid him to enjoy what he is so desirous to appropriate. How 
many are there, who, in consequence of a stateof mental indo- 
lence, smk into a condition approaching to that of brute matter, 
in which they retain the consciousness of their existence, only 
by an obtuse languor, and drowsy discontent. 

Nor did he consider that age afforded an exemption from 
the service of the public, but regarded that service as his 
indispensable duty so long as his physical and intellectual 
powers lasted. He did not act like Scipio Africanus, who 
withdrew in haughty disgust from the service of the state, and 
spent the remainder of his days in retirement and inaction. 



142 HISTORICAL HEADER. 

Cato esteemed that the most honorable old age which is spent 
in serving the commonwealth. The amusements in which he 
passed his leisure hours, were the writing of books, and the 
tilling of the ground. He always invited some of his acquaint- 
ance to partake of his supper, and spent the time in cheerful 
conversation, making it agreeable not only to those of his own 
age, but to the young. His conversation generally turned 
upon the affairs of great and excellent men among the Romans. 
No mention was made of the unworthy, for he would not 
allow, in his company, one word, either good or bad, to be 
said of such men. * 

Many of his sayings are worthy of being remembered, as 
they furnish materials for serious thought, and the regulation of 
our conduct. What he said of the Roman people is applicable 
to the mass of mankind in the present day, even to those who 
boast of their freedom of thought, and self-control. " The 
Roman people are like sheep, for these animals can scarcely 
be brought to stir singly, but all in a body follow their leaders. 
The men, whose counsels they would not take as individuals, 
lead them with ease in a crowd." Speaking of the re-election 
of the same persons to the first offices of the State, he said, 
"You either think these offices of little worth, or that there 
are few worthy of them." "I look upon a king," he said, 
as a creature that feeds upon human flesh : and of all the kings 
that have been so much cried up, I find not one to be compared 
with an Epaminondas, or a Maricus Curtius." " Wise^men 
learn more from fools, than fools from wise men ; for the wise 
avoid the error of fools, while fools do not profit by the exam- 
ple of the wise." When an epicure desired his friendship, he 
said, "He would not live with a man, whose palate had quicker 
sensations than his heart." "Old age has deformities enough 
of its own ; do not add to it the deformity of rice." Being ill 
treated by a man, who led a dissolute life, he said, "It is upon 
very unequal terms that I contend with you ; for you are accus- 
tomed to be spoken ill of, and can speak it with pleasure, but 
with me it is unusual to hear it, and disagreeable to speak it." 
"Rome would be great indeed, if men of birth would not yield 
the palm of virtue to the commonalty, and if plebeians, like 
himself, would contend for excellence with men of birth and 
quality." He used to say, " that they who beat their wives or 
their children, laid their sacrilegious hands on the most sacred 
things in the world ; and that he preferred the character of a 
good husband, to that of a great Senator." 

The greatest blot in the character of Cato was his inveterate 



HISTORICAL READER. 143 

and barbarous hostility to the Carthaginians. Being sent to 
Carthage to enquire into the causes of the war between the 
Carthaginians and the Numidians, his envy was excited, and 
his animosity revived, on seeing the wonderful effects of 
indefatigable industry and patriotic ardor of the former enemies 
of Rome, who had, however, faithfully observed the hard con- 
ditions of their ungenerous conquerors. On his return to Italy, 
he reported, " that the defeats and other misfortunes which had 
happened to the Carthaginians, had made them, instead of a 
weaker, a more skilful and warlike enemy ; that their war 
with the Numidians was only a prelude to future hostilities 
against the Romans. At the conclusion of his speech, he 
shock the lap of his gown, and purposely dropped some Lybian 
figs; and, when he found the Senators admired them for their 
size and beauty, he told them, " that the country where they 
grew was only three days' sail from Rome." After his return 
from Africa j he never gave his opinion to the Senate on any 
subject, without concluding with these words, " And my 
opinion is, that Carthage should be destroyed." His coun- 
sel was adopted, but he did not live to enjoy the savage 
satisfaction which the fulfilment of his denunciation would have 
imparted to his relentless mind. 

A great fleet and army (B. C. 149) were, without any 
previous explanation, fitted out against Carthage. The Car- 
thaginians had sustained several disastrous defeats in their 
Numidian war, and should rather have excited the compassion 
than the hostility of the Romans. Carthage, unable to with- 
stand the enmity of Rome, despatched ambassadors to Italy, 
submissively offering, on the part of the Carthaginians, to 
surrender themselves, and all that they had, and begging to 
know what they should do to appease their victorious rival. 
The Senate haughtily answered, "that they must immediately 
send three hundred hostages of their noblest youth, and submit 
to any further orders which the consuls should impose." The 
hostages were sent, and met the consular army at Libybseum 
in Sicily, but the army proceeded and arrived at Utica, where 
the consuls were again waited on by fresh deputies from Car- 
thage. These ministers of the Roman power praised the good 
dispositions of the Africans, and now required them, that they 
should deliver up without fraud or reserve, all their arms and 
instruments of war. This insulting requisition was complied 
with; and two hundred suits of armor, an innumerable quan- 
tity of spears and javelins, and two thousand catapultse (en- 
gines for discharging arrows) were sent to the Roman camp. 



144 HISTORICAL READER. 

They were followed by the priests and all that was most 
venerable in Caithage. " I cannot but commend,'' said the 
consul, l t the readiness with which you obey the orders of 
the Senate. There is only one thing more which I am com- 
manded to require from you. Depart from your town. You 
may build yourselves another, wherever you please, provided 
it is at a certain distance from the sea. My commission is 
to demolish and raze forever the city of Carthage" 

Nothing more treacherous, barbarous, and disgraceful was 
ever perpetrated. The hostages, and all the arms of the Car- 
thaginians had been obtained on the implied condition of peace. 
And not until they were rendered utterly defenceless (as the 
Romans imagined) did their enemies make known their fell 
determination to annihilate the Carthaginian State. And the 
Romans, after these unparalleled acts of perfidy, who, in re- 
quital of the best endeavors of a brave and generous foe, 
treacherously practised to undo her— the Romans continued 
with shameless effrontery to speak of Punic faithlessness. 

At the sound of the words, " We are determined to demolish 
Carthage," all the Carthaginians broke out into lamentable 
cries; they became frantic with grief, rage, and despair; they 
threw themselves on the ground, beating the earth with their 
foreheads, and tearing their clothes and even their flesh ; they 
invoked the gods, avengers of violated faith, and in the bitter- 
est terms reproached and reviled the Romans. The consuls 
calmly waited till the storm of passion was over. When the 
Carthaginians had expressed their first fury and indignation, 
they lay silent and motionless as if they had been dead. After 
a time, coming to themselves, and to a more perfect feeling of 
their distress, they, instead of angry words, expressed their 
emotions, in lamentations and humble entreaties. The depu- 
ties dreaded to return to Carthage, and said, "We shall be 
torn in pieces before we have fully delivered our message." 
Some of them, in their journey towards the city, stole aside, 
and disappeared ; the rest in silence held on their way. The 
people, in crowds upon the walls, were looking impatiently for 
their return. Many ran out to meet them, and, perceiving an 
excessive sadness in their countenances, eagerly inquired the 
cause. Nobody gave them any answer. Much difficulty had 
the deputies, when they came to the city, to get through the 
press that choked up the gate, and all the way to the Senate 
house. Having entered the assembly, one of them reported 
the consul's command. The universal cry, which it instantly 
raised within doors, was answered by a louder and more doleful 



HISTORICAL READER. 145 

noise from the multitude without, though they knew not yet 
the certainty of the evil they apprehended. The speaker 
continuing his discourse, to inform the Senate of the arguments 
that had been employed to move compassion, the Senators, 
through an earnest desire to know the event, became once more 
silent and attentive; and their stillness produced a breathless 
silence among the people. But when it was understood that 
the consuls, inexorably cruel, refused even to respite the exe- 
cution of their sentence till an embassy should go to Rome, 
and return, the assembly again burst out into cries and lamen- 
tations ; which the multitude hearing, and no longer doubting 
of the intolerable calamity, furiously broke into the Senate 
house, reviling, and insulting all those who had counselled 
their giving of hostages, and delivering up of their arms. The 
whole city became a scene of the most desperate grief, and 
the wildest rage; and the desolation and frantic wailings of the 
mothers, whose sons had been torn from them for hostages, and 
who ran raving about the streets, assaulting those whom they 
accused of robbing them of their children, produced a scene of 
the wildest distress, uproar, and confusion. 

There were, however, some, whose reason was not bewil- 
dered by their sense of indignation and approaching suffering, 
that had the presence of mind to shut and secure the gates, and 
collect on the ramparts great heaps of stones, which might 
serve instead of other weapons. The slaves were enrolled in 
the militia, and Asdrubal, whom they had condemned, was 
entreated to return with his army. The temples and other 
spacious buildings were converted into manufactories, in which 
men and women worked day and night, fabricating arms. 
They made every day one hundred and forty bucklers, three 
hundred swords, five hundred javelins and lances, and a thou- 
sand darts for the catapulta?, of which they constructed as many 
as they could. Materials were wanting for the formation of 
the ropes, and the women, (the female sex have been ever 
found, in cases of emergency, prompt in resources, and prepa- 
red to sustain the mind in the greatest storms and dangers,) so 
soon as they were acquainted with the deficiency, immediately 
cut off their hair, and applied it to that purpose. The city 
of Carthage was, at this time, twenty-three miles in circum- 
ference. 

The consuls attempted to scale the walls in two places, 
believing that, by the aid of ladders, the city would be imme- 
diately taken. To their astonishment, they found the besieged 
well armed, and resolute. Being twice repulsed, they made 

13 



146 HISTORICAL READER, 

preparations for a regular siege. A breach was made in the 
walls, but the Romans were bravely driven back with great 
loss. The Carthaginians made fire-ships of.some old barks* 
and the greater portion of the Roman fleet was destroyed. 
The besieged, now entertaining hopes of a successful re- 
sistance, endeavored to procure allies, but their applications, 
generally, ended in disappointment. 

In the third year of this dreadful struggle for liberty and life, 
the son of Paulus iEmilius, the conqueror of Macedon, and the 
adoptive grandson of Scipio Africanus, was chosen by the 
Romans for their consul, and the general of this war. This 
young man was regarded by his countrymen, in every re- 
spect, the worthy successor of the conqueror of Hannibal. 
He restored the discipline of the army, he engaged the soldiers 
in laborious and astonishing works, and built a wall across the 
isthmus, from sea to sea, twelve feet high, so that the besieged 
could get no provision from the continent that way. He also 
cut off their supplies in another direction, by erecting a huge 
mole in the water, near the mouth of the port, a work of im- 
mense labor and difficulty. But the Carthaginians dug a new 
passage into the sea ; they built fifty galleys, and their fleet 
appeared in the Mediterranean, to the astonishment of the 
besiegers, and gave battle to the enemy's ships. The engage- 
ment lasted the whole day. Winter soon after suspended the 
operations of the siege. Asdrubal endeavored, through the 
Numidian king, to induce the Roman general to spare the city, 
for the Carthaginians could now obtain no more provisions 
from abroad. Scipio smiled, when he was informed of the 
proposition, yet, fearing lest a successor should be sent from 
Rome before the war was ended, he made an offer of life and 
liberty to Asdrubal, and ten families of his friends, on condition 
that the city should surrender. The Carthaginian indignantly 
replied, „" The day will never come, when the sun shall see 
Carthage destroyed and Asdrubal alive.' 2 

Early the next morning, Scipio gained the walls, forced his 
way into the great square of the city, and set fire to the houses. 
Then followed a scene of misery not to be described. Whilst 
the soldiers were butchering the inhabitants in the streets, 
wounded men, women, and children cast themselves from the 
upper stories, to avoid the flames. The air rang with shrieks 
and lamentations. The living, as well as the dead, were 
dragged away together with hooks, into the ditches and pits, 
that they might not choke up the streets. Six days and six 
pights were spent in indiscriminate massacre. Scipio was the 



HISTORICAL READER. 147 

only person who took no sleep. Fatigued at length, he sat 
down on a high ground, whence he might see the conclusion 
of the tragedy. Once, it is said, tears came into his eyes, and 
he repeated two lines of Homer, which seemed to intimate to 
him, that Rome itself might one day undergo a similar fate. 
He wept like a true sentimentalist, not at the wounds of bleeding 
humanity, at the horrible calamities which were before his eyes, 
but at fictitious scenes of distress, which his imagination por- 
trayed. 

Scipio gave the plunder to the soldiers, excepting the gold, 
silver, and the offerings found in the temples. Fifty thousand 
persons were sold for slaves. Thus, in the fourth year of the 
war, Carthage fell. The Senate ordered Scipio to demolish 
what remained of the city, and decreed that no one in future 
should dwell there, adding dire imprecations on those who 
should disobey their commands. They farther added, that 
all the towns, which had taken part with the enemy, should 
be razed, and their territories given to the allies of Rome. 
After Scipio had seen these commands executed; and had 
celebrated, to the honor of the gods, games, in which the bru- 
tal ferocity of his soldiers was amused with the spectacle of the 
wild beasts tearing in pieces all the deserters; he returned 
to Rome, had a splendid triumph, and took the name of 
Africanus. 

" The sun went down, nor ceased the carnage there; 
Tumultuous murder shook the midnight air; 
On Carthage' tow'rs the fires of ruin glow, 
Its blood-dyed waters murmuring far below; 
The storm prevails, the rampart yields a way, 
Bursts the wild cry of horror and dismay! 
Hark! as the smouldering piles with thunder fall, 
A thousand shrieks for hopeless mercy call ! 
Earth shook — red meteors flash'd along the sky, - 
And conscious nature shudder' d at the cry!" 

" And in those days might only shall be admir'd, 
And valor and heroic virtue call'd ; 
To overcome in battle, and subdue 
Nations, and bring home spoils with infinite 
Man- slaughter, shall be held the highest pitch 
Of human glory; and for glory done 
Of triumph, to be styl'd great conquerors, 
Patrons of mankind, gods, and sons of gods ; 
Destroyers rightiier called and plagues of men. 
Thus fame shall be achiev'd, renown on earth; 
And what most merits fame in silence hid." 



148 HISTORICAL READER. 

The utter destruction of Carthage, was succeeded by another 
scene of horrors, if possible, more tragical. This was the 
siege of Numantia, in Spain, which had been exposed to infi- 
nite vexations from the frauds and extortions of the Roman 
governors. The just indignation of the inhabitants brought 
upon them the savage vengeance of the all-grasping conquerors 
of Carthage. The brave Numantines held out for eight years, 
with a garrison amounting to only 4,000 men. AtlastScipio 
was commissioned to finish the war. The Numantines having 
suffered all the evils of famine, offered to surrender on the 
condition of preserving their liberties and their lives. But the 
proposition was rejected. They then asked, that they might 
have the opportunity of meeting their enemies face to face in 
the field. But Scipio, with 60,000 men, protected by a wail 
ten feet high, which surrounded the town, and with a trench 
six miles in circuit, laughed at the challenge, being determined 
rather to reduce by famine, than encounter in the plain, men 
rendered desperate by the sufferings which they had endured. 
At length, this small, but united band of patriots, reduced to a 
state of starvation, sallied out at two gates, and made a furious 
assault upon the enemy's lines, but finding it impossible to 
force the Roman intrenchments, they returned to the town in 
good order, and came to the unanimous resolution of destroy- 
ing themselves, and all that they possessed, by the sword, by 
poison, and by fire. When the Romans entered the city, a hor- 
rid stillness prevailed; not a single human being that had breath 
or motion, not a living creature was to be found ; " the city was 
desolate, without an inhabitant ; " there was not one to be de- 
voured by the sword ; not a single surviving Numantine to be 
led in chains, to adorn the triumph of the ruthless conqueror. 

There are men, so desperately wicked, and others so wan- 
tonly inconsiderate, that will employ all their cunning devices 
to kindle the flame of war, which is the most dreadful and 
most demoralizing evil that can afflict humanity. The preju- 
dices and passions of the people are stirred up either by cool 
malignity, or petulant rashness; and nations, that like kindred 
drops should be mingled into one, by a community of interests 
and sympathies, are recklessly plunged into all the horrors of 
the most bloody contention. Charity hopes that, in many 
instances, these pestilential disturbers of the peace of nations, 
know not what they do. Yet such men, who cast about fire 
brands, arrows, and death, and say, " Are we not in sport? " 
will profess the religion of Jesus, who said, " By this shall all 
men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to 



HISTORICAL READER. 149 

another ! " It is impossible for the utmost severity of language 
to characterize the enormity of their offence against the pre- 
cepts of religion, the dictates of humanity, and the moral and 
physical well-being of society. The indignation of the virtuous 
members of the community should stamp the brand of infamy 
on these enemies of their country, and mankind at large. 

Of the causes of war, Gulliver relates the following: " Some- 
times the ambition of princes, w r ho never think they have land 
or people enough to govern. Sometimes the corruption of 
ministers, who engage their masters in a war, to stifle or divert 
the clamor of the subjects against their evil administration. 
Difference in opinion on religious subjects has cost many mil- 
lions of lives. And no wars are so furious and bloody, or of 
so long continuance, as those occasioned by difference of 
opinion, especially in things indifferent. Sometimes the quar- 
rel between two States is to decide, which of them shall dispos- 
sess a third of his dominions, where neither of them pretends 
any right. Sometimes a war is entered upon because the 
enemy is too strong ; and sometimes because he is too weak. 
Sometimes our neighbors want the things which we have, or 
have the things which we want ; and we both fight, till they 
take ours, or give us theirs. It is a very justifiable cause of 
war, to invade a country after the people have been wasted 
by famine, destroyed by pestilence, or embroiled by faction 
among themselves. It is justifiable to enter into a war against 
our nearest ally, when one of his towns lies convenient to us, 
or a territory of land that would render our dominion round 
and compact. If a prince sends forces into a nation, where 
the people are poor and ignorant, he may lawfully put 
half of them to death, and make slaves of the rest, in order to 
civilize and reduce them from their barbarous way of living. 
There is, likewise, a kind of beggarly princes in Europe, not 
able to make war by themselves, who hire out their troops to 
richer nations, for so much a day to each man, of which they 
keep three fourths to themselves, and it is the best part of their 
maintenance. 

" What you have told me (said my master) upon the subject 
of war, does indeed discover most admirably the effects of that 
reason you pretend to. I could not forbear shaking my head, 
and smiling a little at his ignorance. And being no stranger 
to the art .of war, I gave him a description of cannons, Quiver- 
ins, musquets, pistols, bullets, powder, swords, bayonets, battles, 
sieges, retreats, attacks, undermines, countermines, bombard- 
ments, sea fights, ships sunk with a thousand men, twenty 

13* 



150 HISTORICAL READER. 

thousand killed on each side, dying groans, limbs flying in the 
air, smoke, noise, confusion, trampling to death under horses' 
feet, flight, pursuit, victory, fields strewed with carcasses, left 
for food to dogs and wolves and birds of prey, plundering, 
stripping, burning, and destroying. And I assured him, that 
I had seen a hundred enemies at once blown up in* a siege, 
and as many in a ship ; and beheld the dead bodies drop down 
in pieces from the clouds, to the great diversion of the spec- 
tators. ♦ 

" I was going on to more particulars, when my master 
commanded me silence. He thought his ears being used to 
such abominable words, might by degrees admit them with 
less detestation. When a creature, pretending to reason, 
could be capable of such enormities, he dreaded lest the 
corruption of that faculty might be worse than brutality 
itself." 

The same sentiment is expressed by C. J. Fox. the nobleness 
of whose mind was only equalled by the expanded benevolence 
of his heart. " It has been said, and truly, that one of the 
many evil consequences of war is, that it tends to render the 
hearts of mankind callous to the feelings and sentiments of 
humanity. When we daily hear of the massacre of such 
numbers of individuals, the mind is bewildered in the magni- 
tude and complication of the misery. I am clearly of opinion, 
that the human mind may be made so familiar with misery, 
and scenes of horror, as at last to disregard them, or, at least, 
to view them with indifference. It is difficult to preserve 
always the acuteness of the feelings ; and it is, in my mind, 
no small misfortune to live at a period when scenes of horror 
and blood are frequent. By the constant repetition of such 
scenes, our feelings are by degrees blunted, and in time be- 
come indifferent to what at first would interest them with 
the most amiable sympathy and distress. Humanity, on 
this account was, by the Stoics, deemed a weakness in our 
nature, and, in their opinion, impeded the progress of the 
judgment, and consequently the improvement of the morals ; 
but my sentiments so widely differ from theirs, that I think 
humanity not only not a weakness, but the strongest and 
safest friend to virtue. No man can lament, therefore, more 
than I do, the mischief done to mankind by making the 
heart too familiar with misery, and rendering it at last 
indifferent ; because on the heart and on the feelings chiefly 
depends our love of virtue ; and I am convinced that they do 
more service to the cause of virtue, than the wisest precepts 



HISTORICAL READER. 151 

of the wisest men. Humanity is one of the most beautiful 
parts of the Divine system of Christianity, which teaches 
us not only to do good to mankind, but to love each other 
as brethren : and this all depends on the sensibility of our 
hearts, the greatest blessing bestowed by Providence on man, 
and without which, with the most refined and polished un« 
derstanding, he would be no better than a savage," 



CHAPTER XVI. 



TIBERIUS AND CAIUS GRACCHUS. 

<; The sedition of the Gracchi," is the expression used by 
courtly writers, the sycophants of kings and nobles, lo desig- 
nate the disinterested and patriotic exertions of two wise and 
virtuous men in Rome, to retrieve ihe character of the Re- 
public, and restore to the Roman people their inalienable rights 
and priveleges. 

The father of Tiberius and Caius Gracchus, was twice 
honored with the censorship, twice with the consulate, and led 
up two triumphs, yet he derived still greater dignity from his 
virtues. Cicero passes the highest encomiums on his virtue 
and wisdom. He married Cornelia, daughter of Scipio, who 
conquered Hannibal. He died before he had attained the 
meridian of his life. Cornelia was a woman of a strong and 
well cultivated mind, and remarkable for her many accom- 
plishments. Though well qualified to shine in public, and sure 
of obtaining much admiration, she sought her satisfaction in 
the performance of the domestic duties, devoted herself to the 
education of her children, and had the rich reward of behold- 
ing the fruits of her affectionate exertions, in breathing the 
enlivening spirit, and fixing the generous purpose in the 
glowing breast. 

* f What was the world to her, 
Its pomp, its pleasure, and its nonsense all ? " 

Being once visited by a lady of rank from Campania, the 
stranger made a show of her jewels to the Roman matron, 
but then suddenly recollecting herself, said, "You, madam, 
have doubtless jewels much finer than mine." " I have so," 
answered Cornelia;" and her children shortly after entering 
the room, she turned to her visitor, saying, " These are my 
only jewels." A statue was erected to this illustrious lady in 
her lifetime, and on the pedestal was inscribed, " Cornelia, the 
mother of the Gracchi," an inscription intended to signify, that 



HISTORICAL READER. 153 

these noble patriots owed, in a great degree, their wisdom and 
virtue, to the extraordinary skill and affectionate industry of 
their mother. 

In early manhood, Tiberius Gracchus was the favorite of 
every honorable man in Rome. His intellectual and moral 
qualities were developed at a very early period, and so great 
was his reputation, that he was chosen into the college of 
augurs, as soon as he put on the manly gown. " He was," 
says Paterculus, " a man of the finest parts, the greatest inno- 
cence of life, the purest intentions; in a word, adorned with 
all the virtues, of which human nature, improved by industry, 
is capable." And, even Cicero acknowledges, "That Tiberius 
Gracchus was in no respect inferior in virtue, to his father, or 
his grandfather, except in this, that he forsook the party of the 
Senate." 

A man of his noble character could not regard without great 
concern the increasing degeneracy of the citizens of Rome, 
and more particularly the domineering influence, and the 
grasping avarice, and fraudulent ambition of the Patricians s 
whose increasing arrogance but too plainly manifested their 
desire to destroy the glorious fabric of the constitution of his 
country. And his disinterested nature and ardent spirit would 
not suffer him to remain an inactive and selfish spectator of 
the corruption of the times, and the inroads that were being 
made on the rights of the people. His generous soul spurned 
the selfish dictates of prudence and indolence, and luxurious 
indulgence; and he despised the dastardly and earth-born spirit 
of those miserable creatures, who, secretly acknowledging the 
evils which he felt, and the necessity of a reformation of the 
public abuses to save the sinking commonwealth, had not the 
virtue to make any sacrifices, to incur any risk, or put them- 
selves to ar>y inconvenience. Tiberius, esteemed and beloved 
by his own order, well knew that any efforts to restore the 
privileges, and enforce the rights of the Plebeians, would at 
once convert all their favorable sentimenfs into feelings of bitter 
hostility. Yet, actuated by a strong sense of duty, he disre- 
garded all the suggestions of self interest. Conscious of the 
influence which he had acquired by his virtue, his courage^ 
his humanity, he was determined to use it all in the promotion 
of his country's welfare. 

Tiberius Gracchus, elected a tribune of the people, deter- 
mined to execute his long cherished purpose of remedying the 
grievances which oppressed the Plebeians. His mind was 
deeply impressed with the state of the country, which he had 



154 HISTORICAL READER. 

observed in passing through Tuscany. He found the lands 
almost depopulated, there being scarcely any husbandmen or 
shepherds, except slaves from foreign and barbarous nations, 
whom the nobles employed to till the ground, of which they 
had fraudulently deprived the people. These lands, as is 
mentioned in the 77th page, which had been taken from the 
people whom the Romans had conquered, were, by law, 
appointed to be disposed of for the benefit of the Republic. 
A portion of these lands was sold, a part let at a low rent, 
and the rest given to the poorer citizens. In process of time, 
the rich, by various means, got possession of the grounds destined 
for the subsistence of the poor. This abuse gave occasion to 
the law obtained by Licinius Stolo, about the year of Rome 
306, forbidding any Roman citizen to hold more than five 
hundred acres of land, or to have upon his estate, more than 
one hundred great and five hundred small cattle ; and requiring 
that a certain number of freemen, natives of the country, 
should be employed to cultivate the farms : this, law, confirmed 
by oath, subjected the transgressors of it to a fine, besides the 
forfeiture of all their lands beyond the proportion allowed. 
But notwithstanding these precautions, the Licinian law (ob- 
served for some time to the great benefit of the public) fell at 
length under a total neglect. The rich and the mighty contri- 
ved to possess themselves of the lands of their poor neighbors. 
At first, they held these acquisitions under borrowed names ; 
afterwards, openly, in their own. To cultivate the farms, 
they employed foreign slaves ; so that Italy was in danger of 
losing its inhabitants of free condition (who had no encourage- 
ment to marry, no means to educate children,) and of being 
overrun with slaves and barbarians, that had neither affection 
for the Republic, nor interest in her preservation. 

Tiberius communicated his project to some of the most 
virtuous and respectable men in Rome, and had their appro- 
bation. Among these were his father-in-law, Appius Clau- 
dius, who, we are told, surpassed all the Romans of his time 
in prudence; Crassus, the pontifex maximus ; and the consul, 
Mucius Scsevola, esteemed a wise man, and an able civilian. 
" There never was a milder law," writes Plutarch, " against 
so much injustice and oppression : for they who deserved to 
be punished for their infringement of the rights of the commu- 
nity, and fined for holding the lands contrary to law, were 
to have a consideration for giving up their groundless claims, 
and restoring the estates to such of the citizens as were to be 
relieved. But though the reformation was conducted with so 



HISTORICAL READER. 155 

much tenderness, the people were satisfied. They were 
willing to overlook what was past, on condition that they 
might guard against future usurpations. The rich, however, 
were not satisfied; but, on the contrary, they spoke in terms 
of strong indignation against the measure, and endeavored to 
make it appear, that an act of great injustice and cruelty would 
be committed by removing them from the lands which they 
had so long possessed. And, they did not scruple to use the 
disingenuous arts of misrepresentation and calumny, to which 
reformers in all ages of the world have been exposed. His 
motives were grossly assailed, and they appealed, as on a 
former occasion, to the prejudices, jealousy, and passions of 
people. The rich endeavored, by cunning devices, to raise 
an odium against Gracchus, and denounced him as a seditious 
demagogue, whose present object was popularity, and whose 
ambitious aim, was the throne. They represented, that he 
intended, by the Agrarian law, to throw the whole State into 
disorder, and subvert the constitution ; though they knew that 
his patriotic object was to strengthen the republic by an increase 
of useful members, upon which the welfare, prosperity, and 
safety of Italy depended. But all their insinuations, and all 
their calumny, did not at present poison the public mind. 
The people felt too deeply their grievances, to admit false 
apprehensions." 

" In this just and glorious cause," says Plutarch, "Tiberius 
exerted an eloquence which might have adorned a worse sub- 
ject, and which nothing could resist. How great was he, when 
the people were gathered about the rostrum, and he pleaded for 
the poor in such language as this: "The wild beasts of Italy 
have their caves to retire to, but the brave men who spill their 
blood in her cause, have nothing left but air and light. With- 
out houses, without any settled habitations, they wander from 
place to place, with their wives and children; and their generals 
do but mock them, when, at the head of their armies, they 
exhort their men to fight for their sepulchres, and domestic 
gods : for among such numbers, perhaps there is not a Roman, 
who has an altar that belonged to his ancestors, or a sepulchre 
in which their ashes rest. The private soldiers fight and die 
to advance the wealth and luxury of the great; and they are 
called masters of the world, while they have not a foot of 
ground in their possession." 

He asked the rich, " Whether they preferred a slave to a 
citizen; a man, unqualified to serve in war, to a soldier; an 



156 HISTORICAL READER. 

alien to a member of the republic; and which they thought 
would be more zealous for its interest/' 

His speeches on this occasion, glowing with the pure spirit 
of liberty, and animating the people to a high degree of enthu- 
siasm, silenced his adversaries. They found it necessary to 
have recourse to other means, and there can be no doubt that 
they made lavish use of their immense and ill-gotten riches to 
corrupt not only some of the magistrates, but many of the 
people themselves. Octavius Csecina, one of the tribunes, was 
won over to their interest, and when the law was going to be 
read to the people for their acceptance, he stood up and opposed 
it; and as the consent of all the tribunes was requisite, the bill 
was lost. 

Tiberius, however, was not deterred by this triumph of his 
adversaries; but, as the rich rejected a measure distinguished 
by a kind consideration for their interests, he proposed a bill 
excluding the compensation clause, and also enjoining, that 
whoever held above five hundred acres of the public lands, 
should be deprived of the overplus. Before the day appointed 
for taking the suffrages of the tribunes on this new measure, 
Gracchus and Octavius were strenuously engaged in the rostra 
in political discussions. " Yet > (says Plutarch,) not one abusive 
or disparaging word is said to have escaped either of them in 
all the heat of speaking. Indeed, an ingenuous disposition 
and liberal education will prevent or restrain the sallies of 
passion, not only during the free enjoyment of convivial 
conversation, but in the ardor of contention about points of 
a superior nature" 

Tiberius published an edict, suspending all magistrates from 
the exercise of their functions, till the new bill was either passed 
or rejected by the people, and subjecting to large fines those 
who should disobey his edict. And that the quaestors might 
not have access to the public money, he shut up the temple of 
Saturn, where it was kept, and put his own seal upon the 
door. The faction of the rich appeared in public in mean 
attire, and with dejected countenances, to excite compassion. 
But not satisfied with this harmless and theatrical exhibition, 
which would provoke the laughter of the discerning multitude, 
they were guilty of the crime of conspiring to murder the 
people's intrepid advocate. Snares were laid for him, and 
assassins were suborned to murder him. Apprised of this 
plot, he carried a dagger under his robe, with the hilt conspicu- 
ous, that his enemies might know, he was prepared to resist 
them. 



HISTORICAL READER. 157 

Of the ten tribunes, Octavius alone took part with the 
insolent and oppressive nobles. Tiberius, in an assembly of 
the commons, earnestly entreated him to concur with their 
desires, and to grant, as a favor to the Roman people, what 
they had so much right to demand ; and which, if obtained, 
would be but a small recompense for the fatigues which they 
underwent, and the dangers to which they exposed themselves 
for the safety of the Republic. Finding the dissentient tribune 
immovably fixed in his resolution, he then loudly declared, 
that he saw no way of putting an end to the important dispute 
between them, but by the deposition of one of them from the 
tribuneship. He added, " Do you, Octavius, first gather the 
votes of the people with respect to me: if it be agreeable to 
them, I am ready to resign my office, and become a private 
man." Octavius rejecting the expedient, Tiberius replied, " If 
you persist in your opposition, I will certainly move the comi- 
tia to depose you. I will give you to-morrow to consider what 
part you will act." 

The tribunes being-assembled the next day, Tiberius mounted 
the rostrum ; and, having once more, in vain, exhorted his 
colleague to comply with the people's desire, put the question 
to them, whether Octavius should be removed from the office of 
the tribune. When seventeen of the thirty-five tribunes had 
given their voices against him, Tiberius, anxious to save his 
colleague the disgrace of a public expulsion, interrupted the 
voting, and after embracing, conjured him, in the most pres- 
sing terms, not to expose himself by his obstinacy, to so great 
a dishonor, nor to bring upon him the reproach of having 
degraded his colleague and his friend. Octavius, deeply 
affected by this manifestation of friendship, which political 
hostility could not destroy, shed tears, and continued for 
some time silent ; but, casting a look towards his rich pa- 
trons, he was confirmed in his opposition, and told Tiberius 
to proceed with the voting. 

Deposed, and compelled to leave the rostra^ he was with 
difficulty rescued by Tiberius from the violence of the multi- 
tude. No obstacle now remaining, the Agrarian law passed : 
and, it being resolved that three commissioners should be 
appointed for the execution of it, the people named Tiberius, 
his father-in-law, and his brother, Caius Gracchus, who was 
at this time in Spain, serving under Scipio in the Numantine 
war. These triumvirs were to examine and judge what lands 
belonged to the public, as well as to make the intended distri- 
bution of them. 

14 



158 HISTORICAL READER. 

The Senate, highly exasperated, offered Tiberius every insult 
in their power. They refused him, as triumvir, a tent at the 
public charge, which was usually granted on much less impor- 
tant occasions; and they would allow him no more than nine 
oboli (about 20 cents) a day for his expenses. 

Attalus, king of Pergamus, who died at this time, had 
left the Roman people his heirs. Tiberius immediately pro- 
posed a law, " That all the money in the king's coffers should 
be distributed among the citizens, to enable them to provide 
implements of agriculture for their newly assigned lands. 
And he also declared that the people, not the Senate, had a right 
to dispose of the cities in the territories of Atticus, and that he 
would refer the business entirely to their judgment. " This pro- 
ceeding was extremely mortifying to the Senate, and one of the 
members expressed his impotent spleen by the unfounded state- 
ment, "That the deputy from Pergamus .had brought the 
diadem of Attalus, and his purple robe, and privately given 
them to the tribune, who hoped soon to be king in Rome." 
These accusations made little impression on the minds of the 
people, but the deposing of Octavius afforded the rich a plau- 
sible pretext for casting aspersions on his character and 
motives. Some ancient, and many modern writers, impute 
the basest designs to Tiberius, in this act. But they do him 
the greatest injustice ; for, as Hooke remarks, " Octavius can- 
not be properly said to have been deposed, merely for making 
use of a privilege annexed to his office, but for traitorously 
abusing that privilege." 

Octavius had manifestly deserted the cause of the people, 
which he was elected to promote. He was a faithless servant. 
His own private interests induced him to obstruct this rare 
opportunity of rendering a great and lasting service to his 
constituents. And when we consider, that the opposition of 
one tribune could defeat the measures of his colleagues united, 
and also the means which were adopted by the aristocracy to 
corrupt their fidelity, we must admit the necessity of having, 
in cases of great importance, recourse to strong measures, to 
maintain the people's rights. Cicero, who, with all his merits, 
was no friend to liberty, but was assiduous in increasing the 
overgrown power of the aristocracy, speaks of a single tri- 
bune's right of defeating the plans of his colleagues, as useful 
to the Republic. It was very useful to the patricians ; for it 
would not often happen that the college of tribunes would be 
so universally honest, that not one in ten would be corrupted. 



HISTORICAL READER. 159 

But it was intolerable, that the opposition of a single tribune 
should frustrate the good intentions of the united nine. 

Tiberius made the following defence of his conduct. " The 
person of a tribune, I acknowledge, is sacred and inviolable, 
because he is consecrated to the people, and takes their inter- 
ests under his protection ; but when he deserts those interests, 
and becomes an oppressor of the people, when he retrenches 
their privileges, and takes away their liberty of voting, by 
those acts he deprives himself, for he no longer keeps to the 
intention of his employment. Otherwise, if a tribune should 
demolish the Capitol, and burn the docks and naval stores, his 
person could not be touched. A man, who might do such 
things as these, might still be a tribune, though a vile one ; but 
he who diminished the privileges of the people, ceases to be 
a tribune of the people. Does it not shock you, that a tribune 
should be able to imprison a consul, and the people have it not 
in their power to deprive a tribune of his authority, when he 
uses it against those who gave it ? For the tribunes, as well 
as the consuls, are elected by the people. Kingly government 
seems to comprehend all authority in itself, and kings are 
consecrated with the most awful ceremonies : yet the citizens 
expelled Tarquin, when his administration became iniquitous ; 
and, for the offence of one man, the ancient government under 
whose auspices Rome was created, was entirely abolished. 
What is there in Rome so sacred and venerable as the Vestal 
Virgins, who keep the perpetual fire ? Yet, if any of them 
transgress the rules of her order, she is buried alive : for 
they who are guilty of impiety against the gods lose that 
sacred character, which they had only for the sake of the 
gods. 

"So a tribune, who injures the people, can be no longer 
sacred and inviolable on the people's account. He destroys 
that power in which alone his strength lay. If it is just for 
him to be invested with the tribunitial authority by a majority 
of tribunes, is it not more just for him to be deposed by the 
suffrages of them all 1 What is more sacred and inviolable 
than the offerings in the temples of the gods ? Yet none pre- 
tend to hinder the people from making use of them, or removing 
them whenever they please. And, indeed, that the tribune's 
office is not inviolable or immoveable, appears hence, that 
several have voluntarily laid it down, or been discharged at 
their own request." 

The friends of Tiberius, judging from the menaces and 
cabals of the rich, that his life would be sacrificed to their 



160 HISTORICAL READER. 

vengeance as soon as he became a private man, persuaded 
him to solicit for the continuance of his tribunital office for 
another year. He promised that he would continue his una- 
bated exertions to advance' the welfare of the people. He said, 
"that he would propose a diminution of the number of years 
that the soldiers had to serve ; a right of appeal to the people 
from the judgments of the magistrates, (a very injudicious 
measure, which would be subversive of all jurisprudence, of 
the sacred majesty of the law, and of the independence of the 
judgment seat,) and that the judges in civil causes should be 
one half Knights, and not all Senators, as hitherto." 

On the day of election, when the first two tribunes had given 
their votes for Tiberius, the partizans of the rich caused a vio- 
lent disturbance by the clamor, that it was against the Jaw for 
the same person to be tribune two years together. At length, 
the assembly was adjourned. On the following morning, we 
are gravely told by Plutarch, that several unlucky omens 
occurred. These, if they did not serve to illustrate the opinions 
of the age, and to impress on the mind a sense of gratitude to 
the Author of our Religion, who has saved us from this de- 
grading superstition, would be passed over without notice. 
"At day break, the person who had the care of the chickens 
which they use in augury, brought them, and set meat before 
them ; but only one came out of the pen, though the man shook 
it very much, and that one would not eat; (when the chickens 
eat greedily, it was thought a sign of good fortune) it only 
raised up its left wing, and stretched out its leg, and then went 
in again. This put Tiberius in mind of a former ill omen. 
He had a helmet that he wore in battle, finely ornamented, and 
remarkably magnificent; two serpents, that had crept into 
it privately, laid their eggs and hatched in it. Such a bad 
presage made him mindful of the late one. Yet, he set out for 
the Capitol, as soon as he understood that the people were 
assembled there : but, in going out of the house, he stumbled 
upon the threshold, and struck it with so much violence, that 
the nail of his great toe was broken, and the blood flowed from 
the wound. When he had gone a little on his way, he saw 
on his left hand two ravens fighting on the top of a house, and 
though he was attended, on account of his dignity, by great 
numbers of people, a stone, which one of the ravens threw 
down, fell close at his feet. This staggered the boldest of his 
partizans : but Blossius, of Curme, one of his train, said, it 
would be an insupportable disgrace, if Tiberius, the son of 
Gracchus, grandson of Scipio Africanus, and protector of the 



HISTORICAL KEADEH. 161 

people of Rome, should, for fear of a raven, disappoint that 
people when they called him to their assistance. 

" Several messengers came from his friends then in the Capi- 
tol, and desired him to make haste; and they told him that every 
thing was proceeding according to his wishes. At first, indeed, 
there was a promising appearance. When the assembly saw 
him at a distance, they expressed their joy in the loudest accla- 
mations ; on his approach, they received him with the utmost 
cordiality, and formed a circle about him, to keep all strangers 
off. Mutius then began to call over the tribunes ; but nothing 
could be done in the usual form, on account of the disturbance 
made by the populace, who were still pressing forwards. 
Meantime, Fulvius Flaccus, a Senator, got upon an eminence, 
and knowing that he could not be heard, made a sign with his 
hand, that he had something to say to Tiberius in private. 
Tiberius having ordered the people to make way, Flaccus, 
with much difficulty, got to him, and informed him, c That 
those of the landed interest had applied to the consul, while 
the Senate was sitting, and as they could not bring their ma- 
gistrate into their views, they had resolved to despatch Tiberius 
themselves, and for that purpose had armed a number of their 
friends and slaves*' 

"Tiberius no sooner communicated this intelligence to those 
about him, than they tucked up their gowns, seized the halberts 
with which the sergeants kept off the crowd, broke them, and 
took the pieces to defend themselves against any assault that 
might be made. Such as we're at a distance, much surprised 
at this incident, called out to know the reason of it. Tiberius, 
not being able to speak loud enough to be- heard, touched his 
head with his hand, to signify that his life was in danger. 
Instantly, some of his adversaries ran to the Senate, and in- 
formed them that Tiberius demanded a crown; This raised a 
great commotion. Nasica called upon the consul to defend the 
commonwealth, and destroy the tyrant. The consul, Mucius 
Scsevola, mildly answered, ' That he would not begin to use 
violence, nor could he put any citizen to death who was not 
legally condemned ; but, if Tiberius should either persuade 
or force the people to decree any thing contrary to the con- 
stitution, he would annul it.' Nasica, flaming with wrath, 
turned to the Senators, and said, ' Since the chief magistrate 
betrays and abandons the Republic, let those, who have any 
regard for the laws, follow me.' At the same time, he gath- 
ered up his robe, and, attended by the Senate, and the 
multitude of clients and slaves, who, armed with clubs, had 

14* 



162 HISTORICAL READER. 

held themselves ready for action, ran furiously to the Capitol. 
The majority of the people, panic struck at this unusual ap- 
pearance, and others, impressed with a sense of reverential or 
servile awe, made way for the arrogant traitors and assassins, 
as they dealt their blows right and left, and pushed on to- 
wards Tiberius. Those of his friends who had ranged them- 
selves before him, being slain or dispersed, he himself fled, 
and in his hurry, he stumbled, and fell upon others, who had 
fallen before him. As he was recovering himself, P. Satureius, 
one of his colleagues, a name to be handed down to lasting 
infamy, gave him a blow on the head with a foot of a bench ; 
and he was murdered by a second blow from a wretch named 
Rufus, who afterwards gloried in the action. Above 300 of 
Tiberius's friends and adherents fell in this tumult, the victims 
of " these bloated Senators' unwholesome reign." The mur- 
derers threw the dead bodies into the Tiber. 

B. C. 132. This is said to have been the first sedition in 
Rome, since the expulsion of the kings, in which the blood of 
any citizen was shed. All the other commotions, adds Plu- 
tarch, though neither small in themselves, nor about matters 
of little consequence, were appeased by mutual concessions ; 
the Senate giving up something on the one side, for fear of the 
people ; and the people, on the other, out of respect for the 
Senate. The conspiracy was formed against him, rather to 
satisfy the resentment and malignity of the rich, than for the 
reasons which they assigned to the public. A strong proof 
of this, we have in their abominable treatment of his dead 
body : for, notwithstanding the entreaties of his brother, they 
would not permit him to take away the- corpse, and bury it 
in the night, but threw it into the river with the other victims 
of their rage. Nor were they satisfied with the cruel ven- 
geance they had inflicted ; but they banished some of his friends 
without form of trial, and took others, and put them to death. 
One of his friends they shut up in a cask with -vipers. The 
Senate, who professed to respect the laws, were thus guilty 
of the most flagrant breach of them, which they could commit. 
They assassinated, before their sacred temple of Jupiter Capi- 
tolinus, a magistrate, convicted of no crime, whose person, by 
the laws, was sacred and inviolable. And in consequence of 
this example of murderous violence, the State, up to the time 
of Augustus, was almost constantly in a condition of anarchy, 
yielding, in every successive crisis of public affairs, though 
not without violent throes, and acts of desolation, to the law 
of the strongest. 



HISTORICAL HEADER. 163 

When the people had recovered from the consternation, into 
which the appalling arrogance and violence of the Senators 
had thrown them, they reflected with shame on their pusillani- 
mous desertion of their intrepid advocate, and manifested a 
determined spirit to vindicate their rights. And the Senate, 
dreading their anger, suffered a new commissioner, for the 
execution of the Agrarian law, to be elected in the room of 
Tiberius. But this temporising of the Patricians did not ap- 
pease the indignation of the people for their cruel violence to 
their protector. Nasica, the principal author of the late 
massacre, was the chief object of their resentment.- The 
poorer citizens, whenever they met him, in the public streets, 
reproached him with murder and sacrilege, and threatened him 
with an impeachment. The Senate, fearing the consequence, 
gave him a commission to Asia, on pretended business. He 
privately quitted Italy, and after wandering about for some 
time from place to place, he died in a short time, oppressed 
with vexation and despair. 

It is acknowledged by a writer, who inconsistently condemns 
Tiberius Gracchus, " that the provocation given by the nobles 
was indeed shocking; as they were, in the face and defiance 
of all law and compassion, possessed of all that portion of 
the conquered lands, which was appointed for the subsistence 
of the poor Plebeians, who had earned them with their swords. 
The usurpers were rioting in overgrown wealth, pomp, and 
luxury ; whilst the poor Romans, who daily exposed their 
lives for the safety and aggrandizement of these their oppres- 
sors, by being deprived of their property, wanted bread." 

" This author," remarks Hooke, " has overlooked one article 
in which the provocation was not less shocking than in those he 
has mentioned. Not content with robbing the people of their 
lands, they would not suffer them to earn their bread by their 
labor, in cultivating those lands. Is it any wonder that men 
thus robbed and beggared by the nobles, thus insulted and 
oppressed by them, should yield to the temptation to which 
they were soon exposed, to covet the wealth of other men, 
to sell both their own, and their country's liberty. Liberty 
and republic are cant words, where the bulk of the people 
have neither property, nor the privilege of living by their labor. 
Had the measures of Tiberius been carried into .effect, the 
ambitious would not have had the power which they after- 
wards possessed of corrupting; nor, the people, through indi- 
gence, have been tempted to barter their liberty for gold. 
Tiberius, doubtless, foresaw, that the commonwealth must 



164 HISTORICAL READER. 

perish, unless some effectual measures were taken to crush 
the monstrous heads of that oligarchy which already began 
to shew- itself, and which, if not destroyed, would infallibly 
produce another monster more hideous, if possible, despotic 
monarchy. The generous tribune hazarded and lost his life in 
the pursuit of so glorious an enterprize, and if his character, 
his views, his conduct, be impartially considered, he must 
appear the most accomplished patriot that Rome ever pro- 
duced." 

This year (B. C. 130) the comitia, for the first time, chose 
both of the censors out of the Plebeian order; and a law was 
also passed, that the tribunes of the people should be Senators. 
The Patricians were now apprehensive of the indignation of the 
people, and probably thought, that they would be conciliated 
by their not interposing their influence to prevent this increase 
of the popular power. But the pernicious effect of the example 
which they had set, of lawless violence, was exhibited by an 
outrageous attempt of one of the tribunes on the life of the 
censor Metellus, who had expelled him from the Senate. As 
the censor was returning home at noon-day, the tribune caused 
him to be seized, and was dragging him away, to throw him 
headlong from the Tarpeian rock, when he was with difficulty 
rescued by another tribune. His estate was, however, conse- 
crated to Ceres, and he was reduced to live on the bounty of 
others. 

The commissioners appointed for carrying into effect the 
Agrarian law, had every possible obstacle thrown in their 
way. Numberless disputes arose concerning the boundaries 
of the estates, and the titles of the possessors, and many of 
them had recourse to Scipio, arid begged his protection. 
Though he durst not act directly against the law of Tiberius, 
yet he induced the Senate to take from the triumvirs, as biassed 
and partial judges, the cognizance of these disputes. The 
Patricians assigned the invidious office to the consul, but he, 
shrinking from the discharge of his duty, and leaving Italy, 
all the lawsuits remained undecided, and the functions of the 
triumvirs were suspended. The people were exasperated, and 
vehemently reproached their great enemy, the destroyer of 
Carthage and Numantia. Scipio seems to have aimed at the 
dictatorship, and the Senate, as an expression of approbation 
of his aristocratic demeanor, in a body, conducted him home 
from the Senate house. The next morning he was found 
dead in his bed, without any appearance of a wound. Rollin 
asserts, " that Sempronia, his wife, and the sister of the 



HISTORICAL READER. 165 

Gracchi, readily hearkening to the suggestions of Cornelia 
and the triumvirs, either poisoned her husband, or brought 
into the house by night assassins, who strangled him." This 
assertion of the courtly historian is made without any evidence, 
and is one of the many instances of the effect of interest and 
prejudice in biassing the judgment. ( Rollin was the subject 
of a despot ; his honors and emoluments were dependent on 
that tyrant's will ; by virtue of his office he spoke the annual 
panegyric on Louis XIV, and he would therefore imbibe the 
strongest feelings of aversion to the ardent advocate of the 
people's rights. And it so happens, unfortunately, that most 
of our popular historians were men, who, by the circumstances 
in which they were placed, were rendered incapable of writing 
an impartial account of the transactions which they record. 
Almost all were the pensioners of the crown. Hume has been 
convicted of a very gross perversion of facts, and the whole 
of his history was evidently written with the design of uphold- 
ing monarchical principles.) 

Of the virtues of Cornelia, mention has already been made. 
Plutarch gives this additional testimony, at the conclusion of 
his life of Caius Gracchus: "Cornelia is reported to have 
borne all these misfortunes with a noble magnanimity, and to 
have said of the consecrated places where her sons lost their 
lives, c that they were monuments worthy of them. ' She 
took up her residence at Misenum, after the death of Tiberius, 
and made no alteration in her manner of living. As she had 
many friends, her table was always open for the purposes of 
hospitality. Greeks and other men of letters she had always 
with her, and all the kings in alliance with Rome expressed 
their regard by sending her presents, and receiving the like 
civilities in return. She made herself very agreeable to her 
guests, by acquainting them with many particulars of her 
father, Africanus, and of his manner of living. But what 
they most admired in her was, that she could speak of her 
sons without a sigh or a tear, and recount their actions and 
sufferings, as if she had been giving a narrative of some 
ancient heroes. Some, therefore, imagined that age and the 
greatness of her misfortunes had deprived her of her under- 
standing and sensibility. But those who were of that opinion, 
seem rather to have wanted understanding themselves ; since 
they knew not how much a noble mind may, by a liberal 
education, be enabled to support itself against distress, and 
that, though in the pursuit of rectitude, Fortune may often 
defeat the purposes of virtue, yet virtue in bearing affliction 3 
can never lose her prerogative." 



166 HISTORICAL READER. 

Caius Gracchus, the brother of Tiberius, cherished his 
memory with reverence and affection, and emulated his 
virtues ; but, for several years after his death, sought dis- 
tinction in the field, and not in the forum. " He gave a 
noble specimen," says Plutarch, " of every virtue, distin- 
guishing himself among the other young Romans, not only 
in his operations against the enemy, and in acts of justice to 
such as submitted, but in his respectful and obliging behavior 
to the general. In temperance, in simplicity of diet, and love 
of labor, he excelled even the veterans. But the greatest ser- 
vices to the State did not abate the enmity of the Senate, which 
was expressed in their violent conduct to the ambassadors of 
Micipsa, king of Numidia, who came to acquaint them, that 
their master, out of regard to Caius Gracchus, had sent their 
general in Sardinia a large supply of corn. Indignant at this 
conduct, he unexpectedly came to Rome, but was immediately 
cited to appear before the censors for returning home before 
the general. He told them, "that he had served twelve cam- 
paigns, though he was not obliged to serve more than ten ; and 
that he was the only man who went out with a full purse, and 
returned with an empty one ; while others, after having drunk 
the wine they carried out, brought back the vessels filled with 
gold and silver." 

Other charges were brought against him, but he triumphantly 
cleared his character from every aspersion. It is probable 
that the persecution which he endured from the Senate, deter- 
mined his future course as to civil affairs ; though Cicero relates, 
that it was caused by a dream, and says, " that when he had 
formed a resolution to live perfectly quiet, his brother appeared 
to him when asleep, and thus addressed him, * why lingerest 
thou, Caius ? There is no alternative : the Fates have decreed 
us both the same pursuit of life, and the same death, in vindi- 
cating the rights of the people.' " 

Caius, from this time, entered on the patriotic career which 
his brother had pursued. Notwithstanding the violent opposi- 
tion of the Senate, he was chosen tribune for the next year, B. 
C. 122. Cornelia is said to have employed all the arts of per- 
suasion, as well as the most earnest entreaties, but in vain, to 
divert him from seeking an office that had proved fatal to his 
brother. 

The Senators now repented of the murder of Tiberius, for 
they perceived that their fury had raised up one not less elo- 
quent, nor less patriotic ; and who was stimulated by a deep 
sense of their malignant violence towards a brother whom he 



HISTORICAL READER. 167 

had always looked up to with affection and reverence. Caius, 
passionately fond of literary pursuits, had directed his attention 
particularly to the study of eloquence. He had splendid talents 
and unwearied application. His diction was copious, his ex- 
pression full of dignity, his thoughts just, and the whole 
composition of his discourse grave and elevated. He is said 
to have been the first of the Roman orators, who attached any 
importance to action, which Demosthenes deemed a requisite 
of the first consequence. And he took so much care with 
regard to the modulation of his voice in his public harangues, 
that he had always behind him a musician, who, when he 
raised it too high, or sunk it too low, brought it, by means of a 
flageolet, to the proper pitch. 

He never allowed the Plebeians to forget the cruel fate of his 
brother ; for, on whatever subject he began, he always intro- 
duced the dreadful scene of outrage by which the majesty of 
the laws had been so grossly violated. And Cicero tells us, 
that when Caius uttered the following words, there was so 
much power in his look, his action, and the tone of his voice, 
that he drew tears even from his enemies : "Ah wretch! whither 
turn myself? Where hide me? The Capitol a refuge? — 
There bleeds Tiberius, a brother ! Fly home, then ? — Discon- 
solate ! to behold a mother overwhelmed with misery and 
despair." 

Of the edicts of Caius which became laws, the following are 
the most important : " That no Roman citizen should be capi- 
tally tried, without an express order from the people." " That 
the Agrarian law of Tiberius should be enforced, with a clause of 
a certain annual tribute from the divided lands to the trea- 
sury." " That no Roman citizen, under the age of seventeen, 
should be enlisted." " That the soldiers should be clothed at 
the public expense, without retrenching any thing of their pay 
on that account." "That public roads should be made, and 
kept in repair." " That there should be a monthly distribution 
of corn to the people, at the expense of the treasury." 

The edict concerning the highways was one of great impor- 
tance, and manifests his provident regard for the interests of 
the State. An attention to the public roads merits the par- 
ticular care of every government, as few things contribute 
more to the prosperity, comfort, social intercourse, and general 
well being of the community. Caius applied to these works 
with the greatest diligence and pleasure, and he paid regard to 
beauty as well as use. The roads were drawn in a straight 
line through the country, without regard to hills or declivities, 



168 HISTORICAL READER. 

(an error which modern improvement is at last amending, it 
being at length found out, that time is not measured correctly 
by distance, but by the quality or inequality of the ground.) 
They were paved with hewn stone, or made of a binding sand, 
brought thither for the purpose. When he met with dells, or 
other deep places, made by land floods, he either filled them up 
with rubbish, or stretched bridges over them ; so that, being 
levelled and brought to a perfect parallel en both sides, they 
afforded a regular and elegant prospect through the whole. 
Besides, he divided all the roads into miles of nearly eight fur- 
longs each, and set up pillars of stone to mark the divisions. 
He likewise erected other stones at proper distances, on each 
side of the way, to assist travellers who rode without servants, 
to mount their horses. 

" These little things are great to little men," and as they 
exhibit the anxious and paternal solicitude of the government 
respecting the convenience of the people, they tend more to 
strengthen their attachment than measures of a momentous 
nature relating to civil intercourse ; as a succession of little 
kind offices gains our affection more certainly than a few acts 
of splendid benevolence. 

The law ordaining a monthly distribution of corn, though 
well intended, was not the dictate of enlightened policy. A 
measure more injurious to the soundness of the body politic 
can scarcely be imagined. It tended by insensible degrees to 
produce a spirit of dependence, servility, and pauperism. 
The people under its operation gradually sunk in their "own 
estimation," they lost the feeling of self-respect, a feeling the 
nurse of virtue, and the handmaid of true humility. And, the 
succeeding history of Rome presents them to us a servile, 
licentious, indolent, venal class, spending their time at the 
public shows, and eating, not the sweet bread of industry, 
but the deleterious portion of public largesses, the offals of the 
rich man's table. 

Caius was incessantly occupied in the discharge of his mul- 
tifarious duties. In his intercourse with ambassadors, officers, 
soldiers, men of letters, architects, and workmen, he preserved 
his gravity, dignity, and politeness, accommodating himselfto 
the rank and character of the persons with whom he conver- 
sed. Even his enemies could not withhold their testimony to 
his superior talents and indefatigable industry. 

A new decree having been lately made by the comitia, 
" that if a tribune wanted time to complete any useful under- 
taking, particular regard should be had to him at the next 



HISTORICAL READER. 169 

election," Caius Gracchus, without any solicitation on his 
part, was chosen to the office. In his second tribuneship, a 
law was passed, which took from the Senate the right of 
judicature, which it had exercised from the foundation of 
Rome, and transferred it to the knights. This act was found 
to be necessary to the due administration of justice, and the 
protection of the subjects and allies of Rome; for many in- 
stances had lately occurred, in which the members of their 
body, convicted of extortion, escaped punishment through their 
partial regard to their order. 

That he was not opposed to the just rights of the Senate, 
appears from the law, which was passed by his authority, or- 
daining, " that this assembly should every year, before the 
election of consuls and praetors, determine which of the provin- 
ces should be consular, and which praetorian ; and that with 
regard to the consular provinces, even the tribunes should not 
have the right of intercession." This law continued till the 
overthrow of the Republic. 

The Senate, however, actuated with inveterate malignity 
against the advocate of the people's rights, was not softened by 
this proof of his impartiality ; but determined to lower him in 
the public estimation by the singular expedient of overbidding 
for popularity. To accomplish their sinister purpose, they won 
over to their interest Drusus, one of the tribunes, and a distin- 
guished orator. The Senate had railed against Caius as a 
demagogue, because he had planted two colonies ; but, they 
aided Drusus in procuring a decree for planting twelve new 
colonies, each of 3,000 Romans ; they remitted the yearly tax 
which Caius had imposed on the lately divided lands; and 
passed a law, that no Roman general should cause any sol- 
dier of the Latin nations to be beaten with rods. Drusus 
ostentatiously committed to others the disbursement of the 
public money for public works ; while Caius, scorning the 
idea of the suspicion of fraud, without any hesitation, by 
virtue of his office, took from the public treasury what was 
wanted for the execution of his projects. Drusus, on all 
occasions, stated " that all his measures were proposed by the 
advice of the Senate, who were above all things solicitous 
for the good of the people." And, many of the people were 
imposed upon by these fair seeming measures, and deserted 
their well tried friends, and joined the faction of their hypo- 
critical enemies. Caius, at this time, was in Africa, engaged 
in re-building Carthage, for which purpose a law had been 
passed, notwithstanding the imprecation formerly denounced 

15 



170 HISTORICAL READER. 

against those who should propose such a measure ; and he had 
taken with him a colony of 6,000 Romans. On his return, 
he found several eminent persons engaged in insidious exer- 
tions to undermine his reputation. One of his enemies, a 
candidate for the consulship, sought popularity by taking a 
house in a quarter of the city inhabited by the poorest of the 
citizens, where he performed the part of a demagogue with 
great success; and the consul Fannius, who had been raised 
to this office, by his interest, was seduced from the popular 
side by the Patricians. 

Caius a third time stood candidate for the tribunitial office, 
but was defeated, it is said, through a false return. The dema- 
gogue, Opimius, his bitter enemy, was elected to the consulship, 
and exerted the whole power of his office to repeal the laws of 
Gracchus. On the day fixed for proposing to the comitia the 
abrogation of these laws, both parties, early in the morning, 
repaired to the Capitol. While the consul was performing 
the customary sacrifice, one of the lictors, carrying away the 
entrails of the victim, said to the friends of Caius, " Make way 
there, ye worthless citizens, for honest men," and he accom- 
panied these words with the most contemptuous actions. 
Enraged at this gross insult, the people, regardless of all the 
entreaties and exertions of Caius, instantly surrounded, and 
despatched the officer. 

This act of popular rage gave the enemies of Gracchus 
unbounded joy ; and they well knew how to improve it to 
his ruin. How often have the people destroyed, and brought 
to the brink of destruction, their most valued privileges by 
tumultuary scenes of violence 1 The experience of all ages 
" has pleaded like angels, trumpet-tongued," against this 
licentious mode of vindicating their rights. Oh ! let them, 
as they value the dearest blessing man can possess, abstain 
from the violation of the laws of their country ; for law is the 
only foundation and security of liberty. 

At an early hour next day, the consul assembled the Senate, 
and while he was addressing them within, others exposed the 
corpse of the lictor on a bier without, and, as it had been pre- 
viously concerted, carried it through the forum to the Senate- 
house, making loud lamentations as they proceeded. Opimius, 
who had taken part in the theatrical arrangement, affected to 
be much surprised at the commotion, and went out attended 
with all the Senators to ascertain the cause. The body, being 
placed in the midst of them, they, who had set the example 
of massacre by murdering Tiberius, hypocritically joined in the 



HISTORICAL READER. 171 

doleful sounds; they wailed and mourned as for some public 
and terrible calamity, and expressed their indignation in pas- 
sionate terms, and joined the procession through the streets. 

" Trust not the cunning waters of those eyes, 
For villainy is not without such rheum." 

When they had acted this scene, " with all the forms, modes, 
and shows of grief," they returned to the Senate-house. And, 

" Upon their eye-balls murd'rous tyranny 
Sat, in grim majesty, to fright the world." 

The Senate came to a vote, which had formerly been resorted 
to only in seasons of great public calamity, " that the consul 
should take care, that the commonwealth received no detri- 
ment." This vote conferred dictatorial power. The consul 
Opimius commanded all the Senators to take arms, and all 
the knights, each with two slaves well armed, to assemble the 
next morning. 

Caius, as he returned from the forum, stood a long time 
looking upon his father's statue, and, after having given vent 
to his sorrow in some sighs and tears, retired without uttering 
a word. Many of the Plebeians, witnessing his emotion, ex- 
pressed their determination to defend him from his enemies, 
and passed the night before his door. C. Fulvius, prepared to 
make resistance; drew together a great crowd of people, and 
led them armed to mount Aventine, of which they took posses- 
sion. When Caius, with only a short dagger under his gown, 
was leaving his house, in order to join them, his wife threw 
herself at his feet, and taking hold of him with one hand, and 
her son in the other, said to him, "You are leaving me, 
Caius, not to ascend the rostra, a tribune, as formerly, and 
a legislator ; not to take part in the dangers of a glorious war, 
where, should you fall, my distress would at least have the 
consolation of honor. You are going to expose yourself to 
the murderers of Tiberius, unarmed, indeed, as a man should 
go, who would rather suffer than commit any violence ; but, 
can the Republic reap any advantage from your destruction? 
Faction reigns ; outrage and the sword are the only measure 
of justice. Had your brother fallen before Numantia, the truce 
would have restored to us his body. Now, perhaps, I also 
must become a supplicant to some river or sea, to discover 
where your body lies concealed: for, after the murder of 



172 HISTORICAL READER. 

Tiberius, what confidence can we have either in the laws 
or the gods." 

When Licinia had poured forth these lamentations, Caius 
stole gently from her, and walked on with his friends to mount 
Aventine. He persuaded Fulvius to send the younger of his 
sons, a beautiful youth, bearing a caduceus in his hand, to 
make proposals of peace. He approached with great modesty 
and tears in his eyes. Many were disposed to listen to the 
proposal. But Opimius answered, " that it was not by mes- 
sengers that Fulvius and his followers could make satisfaction 
to the Senate ; they must surrender as criminals convicted; 
and then, if they pleased, they might deprecate punishment ; " 
and, he forbade the young herald to come any more, unless to 
signify the submission of those that sent him. When this an- 
swer was received, Caius desired to go to treat with the Senate, 
but his friends would not allow him to expose himself to this 
danger. The youth being sent out again, was seized and 
detained prisoner. Opimius instantly marched towards mount 
Aventine with a numerous body of infantry, and some Cretan 
archers, and he offered pardon to all who should desert Caius 
and Fulvius ; and promised their weight in gold for their heads. 
It is said, but surely without foundation, that the greater part 
of their followers abandoned them on the first onset. All 
were, however, put to flight by the Cretans. Fulvius took 
refuge in an old bath, where he was soon found, and put to 
death with his eldest son. 

Caius made no attempt to defend himself, but, expressing 
the greatest uneasiness at this dreadful violation of the laws, 
retired into the temple of Diana, where he was prevented by 
his two faithful friends, Pomponius and Licinius, from putting 
an end to his own life, and persuaded to make his escape. 
These true sons of liberty generously sacrificed their lives in 
withstanding the pursuers at the entrance of the Sublician 
bridge, that he might have time to secure his retreat. It is 
said, that Caius called in vain for a horse, as he passed along; 
but, it is scarcely credible, that the timidity of the people should 
have overpowered all sense of gratitude. Let us hope that it 
is a libel on the people, forged to deter their friends in future 
times from exerting themselves in their behalf. Caius, at 
length, sought shelter in a wood, where, as he saw the enemy 
approaching to murder him, he preferred the alternative of 
falling by the hand of a faithful slave, who, after he had per- 
formed this painful service, despatched himself. 

The dead bodies of the slain, to the number of 3,000, (which 



HISTORICAL READER. 173 

seems to prove that a vigorous effort was made, and that Caius 
was not immediately abandoned,) were, by the consul's order, 
thrown into the Tiber. He confiscated their effects, forbade 
their widows to wear mourning for them, deprived Caius's 
widow of her dowry, and caused the younger son of Fulvius 
to be strangled in prison. After all these acts of violence, and 
bloody executions, he built a temple to Concord! thus glory- 
ing in his cruelty, and making the murder of so many citizens 
a matter of triumph. This Opimius, so deeply stained with the 
blood of some of the best men in Rome, and who was after- 
wards banished for taking bribes to betray his country, re- 
ceives no small share of commendation from Cicero. He 
speaks of him as the man, who had delivered the Republic from 
the greatest dangers, and as being justly exempt from any re- 
morse of conscience in his banishment, as the criminality of the 
deeds which he had committed, rested with those who obliged 
him to have recourse to these severe measures. 

Sallust, however, expresses a different opinion of the violent 
measures which were at this time adopted by the Patricians to 
destroy the liberties of Rome. In his history of the war with 
Jugurtha, he attributes the factions, conspiracies, and conten- 
tions which . distracted Rome, to the luxury and indolence 
introduced after the destruction of Carthage. ''Before this 
event, the people and the Senate managed public affairs in 
a conciliatory spirit, with harmony and moderation. The. 
fear of their common enemies united them in the pursuit of 
measures for the advantage of the State. But, when they 
were delivered from this fear, licentiousness and pride, the 
usual attendants upon prosperity, possessed them. Thus the 
leisure, which they had longed for in adversity, was more 
pernicious and destructive than war itself. For the nobility 
made their high rank, and the people their liberty, the means 
of gratifying all their prurient desires. Every one, actuated 
by gross self-interest, was ready to commit any act of fraud 
and violence. Two factions now divided the State, and the 
Republic was made the common prey of both. The party of 
the nobility, however, predominated ; for the power of the 
people, diffused amongst the multitude, was weak from want 
of union. In peace and in war, every thing was managed by 
the arbitrary pleasure of a few. The treasury, the provinces, 
the civil offices, glory, and triumphs, were at their disposal. 
The people were reduced to subjection by military services, 
and by penury; the generals divided the plunder of war 
amongst a few. And, in addition to this cruel injustice, 

15* 



174 HISTORICAL READEK. 

parents or little children, who happened to live near any great 
man, were driven from their habitations. Thus avarice, com- 
bined with power, regardless of the dictates of moderation or 
shame, with its polluting touch, grasped and laid waste every 
thing on which it could lay its vile hand, recklessly disregard- 
ing what was esteemed most sacred, until at last it was 
involved in one common ruin. And when any person arose, 
who preferred true glory to iniquitous oppression, the city was 
thrown into general commotion and civil distraction, as if the 
whole earth was going to be broken up." 

" For after Tiberius and Caius Gracchus, whose ancestors 
in the Carthaginian and other wars, had much increased the 
power and extent of the State, began to vindicate the rights of 
the people, and lay bare the wickedness of the aristocracy, 
the guilty nobility, struck with fear from a consciousness of 
their crimes, opposed the proceedings of the Gracchi, at one 
time by the allies and the people of Latium, at another, by 
means of the Roman knights, whom, the hope of a close 
alliance with the Patricians, had seduced from the people's 
interests. In the first place, they put to death with the sword 
Tiberius, and a few years afterwards, Caius following in the 
steps of his brother, one a tribune, and the other one of the 
triumvirs for planting colonies, and also M. Fulvius. The 
Gracchi, indeed, through an ardent desire of accomplishing 
their objects, were not sufficiently under the influence of mode- 
ration. But it is far better to be defeated in a good cause, 
than to subdue oppression by unjust means. The nobility, 
after this victory over the popular party, gave unrestrained 
indulgence to their vengeance by murdering and banishing a 
great many persons ; but this conduct rather increased the 
dislike and apprehension of the people than the real power of 
the aristocracy. This state of things has often proved the 
destruction of great nations. Each party, reckless of the 
means, is bent on the destruction of the other, and vengeance 
is wreaked on the conquered." 

The people, in a short time, resumed courage enough to erect 
statues to the Gracchi, and consecrate the places where they 
had been slain ; and many worshipped there daily as in the 
temples of the gods : but the popular cause never recovered 
the wound which it had received, by the murder of these two 
illustrious patriots. The tribunes themselves combined with 
the nobles, to injure and oppress the commons. The Agrarian 
law was gradually abrogated ; first, leave was granted to every 
man, contrary to its tenor, to part with his share of the lands ,• 



HISTORICAL READER, 175 

which gave the rich an opportunity of making cheap purchases, 
and even of seizing the properties of the defenceless Plebeians, 
without any compensation. After the Gracchi, no tribune, or 
magistrate, ever arose, honest and generous enough to espouse 
the true interests of the people. Some, indeed arose, full of 
insincere professions, but their object was their own advance- 
ment. There were, from this period to the time of the 
destruction of the Republic, many demagogues, but few 
genuine patriots. The civil contests, henceforward, were 
between the Senate, tenacious of their sovereign rule, and 
a few individuals, who sought to wrest the power out of their 
hands, and place it in their own. As these contentions are of 
little present interest, and afford scarcely any valuable instruc- 
tion, they will not occupy much of our attention. 

About ten years before the death of Caius Gracchus, the 
Slaves in Sicily broke out into an alarming rebellion, which 
spread over the greater part of the island. Many of the 
estates were in possession of Roman knights, (opulent publi- 
cans,) who, finding it more to their interest to employ slaves, 
than husbandmen of free condition, had imported so many, 
that the island swarmed with them. Being under no strict 
system of discipline, and scarcely allowed necessary food or 
raiment, they had recourse to rapine, and frequently went out 
in gangs, plundered villages, and exercised all kinds of vio- 
lence. Impunity increased these licentious disorders, and gave 
them an opportunity of forming plots to throw off the yoke of 
servitude. One of these slaves, of the name of Eunus, pre- 
tended to have, by dreams and apparitions, intercourse with the 
gods, and, by various juggling tricks, he raised his reputation 
so high, that his advice was deemed oracular. Multitudes 
flocked to him to be told their fortunes. And he persuaded 
many of his votaries, that he was destined to be a king. Four 
hundred slaves, armed with rustic weapons, placed him at 
their head, and increasing in numbers as they went, they got 
possession of Enna, plundered the houses, and put all the in- 
habitants to the sword. Having murdered many of their 
masters, Eunus put the regal circle on his head, took the 
name of Antiochus, and established a form of government. 
Three Roman praetors were successively vanquished by the 
slaves, whose numbers now amounted to nearly 200,000 men. 
Several towns were taken by this tumultuous assemblage, and 
the whole island was threatened with pillage and indiscriminate 
massacre. 

The example of the slaves in Sicily was followed by many 



176 HISTORICAL READER. 

in Italy and Greece, and a servile war was apprehended 
throughout the extent of the Roman empire. But, at length, 
after the destruction of more than 20,000 of the insurgents, 
the discipline of the Roman armies prevailed over the disuni- 
ted bands of fugitives. Eunus, with 600 of his guards, 
escaped from Enna, and took refuge in a steep rocky place. 
Being surrounded by the Romans, the guards slew one ano- 
ther to avoid a more painful death, and the prophet, hiding 
himself in a cave, was dragged out, together with his cook, 
his baker, the" man that used to rub him when he bathed, 
and a buffoon, whose business it was to divert him at his 
meals. 

B. C. 128. The Romans, after suppressing this alarming 
rebellion, entered upon a new war in Asia, to take posses- 
sion of the kingdom and the people, that Attalus, by his 
sovereign pleasure, had left in his will to the Republic. 
These inconsistent champions of liberty maintained, certainly 
not by any appeal to her sacred dictates, but by the strong 
arm of power, that a man, invested with a diadem, has a 
right to dispose of his subjects, as if they were so many 
head of cattle. They uniformly acted on the principle, that 
might constitutes right. The undertaking was more difficult 
than they expected. The whole Roman army was routed, 
and the general taken prisoner. To avoid the disgrace of 
slavery, he provoked a Thracian to kill him, by thrusting a 
rod into his eye. The reduction of Pergamus was effected by 
the basest methods. The consul poisoned the springs from 
which the towns, that held out against him, were supplied 
with water. Yet, after this barbarous device, he was continued 
in the government of Pergamus three years after the expiration 
of his consulship; and when he returned to Rome, he was 
honored with a triumph. Not long after this, the Republic 
claimed as her own, Ionia, Eolis, Caria, Lydia, Doris, Lycao- 
nia, Pisidia, and the two Phrygias, and the whole, including 
Pergamus, was called the province of Asia. From this time, 
there was a perpetual intercourse kept up with the Asiatics ; 
and hence that excess of luxury, and that refinement in vice, 
which completed the corruption of the manners of the Romans, 
and subverted the republican constitution. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



ASIA MINOR. 



Asia Minor is a name which does not occur in the Classics, 
but was first given to this peninsula in the middle ages. It is 
now called Natolia or Anatolia, because it lies east from Con- 
stantinople. 

The chief parts of Asia Minor were Mysia, Troas, Molls, 
Ionia, Lydia, Caria, Lycia, Pamphylia and Pisidia, Isauria 
and Lycaonia, Cilicia, Cappadocia and Armenia Minor, 
Pontus, Paphlagonia, Bithynia, Galatia or Gallogreecia, and 
Phrygia Magna. 

1. Mysia, divided into Minor and Major. The first lay 
along the Hellespont. The chief town is Cyzicus, on an 
island of the Propontis, joined to the continent by two 
bridges, rendered famous by the siege of Mithridates, which 
was raised by Lucullus. Near this is the Granicus, where 
Alexander first defeated the Persians, and Lucullus cut to 
pieces the army of Mithridates. North of it is the river 
jEsopus, the boundary of this province ; south of it, Lamp- 
sacus. 

Mysia Major was intermingled with the two following 
divisions, which it anciently included. 

2. Troas, or Phrygia Minor. — Troja or Ilium is, near 
the mouth of the river Scamander or Xanthus, below its junc- 
tion with the Simois. These are torrents which flow from 
mount Ida. On the sea stood Rheeteum, where was the tomb 
of Ajax, and Sigseum, where was the tomb of Achilles, both 
situate on promontories of the same name; opposite to which 
is the island Tenedos. On the Thymbris, a small river which 
runs into the Scamander, stood Thymbra, famous for the 
temple of Apollo, in which Achilles was slain by Paris. 

Opposite to the north of the island Lesbos, is the promontory 
Lectum; south of which stood Antandros and Adramyttium, 
on a bay of the same name ; Campus Thebes, celebrated by 
Homer, and Lyrnessus, the country of Bris6is, the captive 



178 HISTORICAL READER. 

of Achilles. In this and the neighboring countries dwelt the 
Leleges. 

The capital of Troas is celebrated by the poems of Homer 
and Virgil ; and, of all the wars of ancient times, the siege of 
Troy is the most famous. The Trojan war was undertaken 
by the Greeks to recover Helen, the wife of Menelaus, whom 
Paris, the son of Priam, king of Troy, had carried off from 
the house of his host. All Greece united to avenge the cause 
of the king of Sparta, brother of Agamemnon. The largest 
ships carried about 120 men each, and, it is supposed, that 
about 100,000 men were engaged in this expedition. Aga- 
memnon was chosen general of all these forces, but the kings 
and princes of Greece were admitted among his counsellors, 
and by them all the operations of the war were directed. The 
most celebrated of the Grecian princes that distinguished them- 
selves in this war, were Achilles, Ajax, Menelaus, Ulysses, 
Diomedes, Protesilaus, Patroclus, Agamemnon, Nestor, Neop- 
tolemus. The king of Troy received assistance from the 
neighboring princes of Asia Minor, and reckoned among his 
most active generals, Rhesus, king of Thrace, and Memnon, 
who entered the field with 20,000 Assyrians and ^Ethiopians. 
The operations of the siege were retarded by a plague ; and 
the quarrel of Agamemnon and Achilles, respecting the cap- 
tive Bryseis. After the siege had been carried on for ten 
years, it is said, that the city was betrayed by some of the 
Trojans. The poets, however, maintained it was taken by 
artifice; — that the Palladium, a statue of Pallas, said to have 
fallen from heaven, on the preservation of which depended the 
safety of Troy, was stolen by Ulysses and Diomedes, (though 
others assert, that the true Palladium was not taken away, but 
was conveyed from Troy to Italy by iEneas,) and that a large 
wooden horse, filled with armed men, fabricated by the Greeks, 
was, in consequence of false representations of its object, in- 
cautiously taken into the city by the Trojans; and that during 
the night, the Greeks let themselves down, and opened the 
gates to their companions, who were concealed in the island of 
Tenedos. A scene of indiscriminate massacre ensued, and 
Troy was reduced to ashes. B. C. 1185. 

3. iEoLiA, between the rivers Caicus and Hermus, was 
peopled by the iEolian Greeks from iEtolia. There were 
tw r elve considerable cities, of which Cumoe and Lesbos and 
Larissia were the most famous. There was an oracle of 
Apollo at Grynium. 

4. Ionia was likewise peopled by the Greeks. It was 



HISTORICAL READER. 179 

divided into twelve small states, which formed a celebrated 
confederacy. These twelve states were, Priene, Miletus, 
Colophon, Clazomence, Ephesus, Lebedos, Teos, Phoccea, 
Erythrce, Smyrna, and the capitals of Samos and Chios. 
Having enjoyed their independence for some time, they were 
made tributary to the power of Lydia by Croesus. The Athe- 
nians assisted them to shake off the Asiatic yoke, but they 
joined Xerxes when he invaded Greece. They were delivered 
from the tyranny of the Persians by Alexander, and were re- 
duced by the Romans under the dictator Scylla. B. C. 80. 
Ephesus was famous for the temple of Diana, one of the seven 
wonders of the world, built at the joint expense of the Grecian 
states in Asia. It was the birth place of Heraclitus, the weeping 
philosopher, of Hipponax the poet, and of Parrhasius and Apel- 
les, painters. Near Mycale, the Persian fleet was defeated by 
the Greeks. At Teos the poet Anacreon was born. At Pri- 
ene, Bias, one of the seven wise men of Greece ; and near 
the city was the river Mseander, remarkable for its winding 
stream,, whence the word is used to denote a labyrinth, and a 
serpentine course. Miletus was the city of Thales, the father 
of philosophy, and of his scholar Anaximander, the inventor 
of dials and maps; and of Timotheus, the musician. To 
Themistocles (who on his banishment sought a refuge in the 
court of the Persian monarch,) Artaxerxes granted Myus to 
furnish his table with meat, Magnesia to supply him with 
bread, and Lampsacus with wine. 

5. Lydia, called also Mseonia. Its capital was Sardes, at 
the foot of mount Tmolus. in which, we are told, Midas, who 
turned into gold whatever he touched, washed himself,*- whence 
it rolled golden sands. North of this was Magnesia, at the 
foot of Mount Sipylus, near which Antiochus was defeated by 
the Romans under Scipio Africanus. On the river Caystrus, 
stood Philadelphia and Metropolis. There were three different 
races that reigned in Lydia, the Atyadae, Heraclidae, (the de- 
scendants of Hercules, whose recovery of the Peloponesus, 80 
years after the Trojan war, forms an important epoch in 
ancient history,) and Mermnadoe. Lydia was governed by 
monarchs, who, after the fabulous ages, reigned for 249 years. 
Croesus, the last king, was conquered by Cyrus. B. C. 548. 
The court of Croesus was the asylum of learning; under his 
patronage lived iEsop, the celebrated writer of fables. In a 
conversation with Solon, Crcesus endeavored to induce the 
philosopher to pronounce him the happiest of mankind, but 
Solon abhorring flattery, would not gratify the vanity of the 



180 HISTORICAL READER, 

rich and powerful monarch. " I see you," he said, " the 
sovereign of many nations, and possessed of extraordinary 
affluence and power. But, I shall not be able to give a satis- 
factory answer to the question you propose, till I know that 
your scene of life shall be closed with tranquillity. The man 
of affluence is not, in fact, more happy than the possessor of a 
bare sufficiency ; unless, in addition to his wealth, his end of 
life be fortunate. We often discern misery in the midst of 
splendid plenty, whilst real happiness is found in the humbler 
stations. The rich man, who knows not happiness, surpasses 
but in two things the humbler, but more fortunate character 
with which we compare him. Yet there is a variety of inci- 
dents in which the latter excels the former. The rich man 
can gratify his passions ; and has little to apprehend from 
accidental injuries. The poor man's condition exempts him 
entirely from these sources of affliction. He, moreover, pos- 
sesses health and strength ; a stranger to misfortune, he is 
blessed in his children, and amiable in himself. If, at the end 
of such a life, his death be fortunate, this, O! king, is the truly 
happy man, the object of your curious inquiry. It is the part 
of wisdom to look to the event of things; for the Deity often 
overwhelms with misery, those who have formerly been pla- 
ced on the summit of felicity." 

Croesus, dissatisfied, dismissed the philosopher with displea- 
sure. * c You see," said jEsop to his friend, " that we must 
either not come near kings, or we must entertain them with 
things agreeable to them." " That is not the point," replied 
Solon; "you should either say nothing to them, or tell them 
what is useful." 

The happiness of Crossus was soon disturbed by the death 
of his son; and his thoughts were, at length, diverted from his 
domestic affliction by the alarming progress of the Persian 
arms. In great apprehension, he consulted all the oracles, 
and also sent to the Lybian Ammon. The only satisfactory 
answer was that returned by Apollo at Delphi, which, in reply 
to the question, " What Croesus was at that time doing?" an- 
swered in heroic verse, 

* £ I count the sand, I measure out the sea ; 
The silent and the dumb are heard by me ; 
E'en now the odors to my sense that rise, 
A tortoise boiling with a lamb supplies, 
When brass below, and brass above it lies." 

It is said, that on the day appointed to consult the different 



HISTORICAL READER. 181 

oracles, Croesus, determined to do what it would be equally 
difficult to discover or explain, and for this purpose he had cut 
in pieces a tortoise and a lamb, and boiled them together in a 
covered vessel of brass. 

Croesus, perfectly convinced of the divinity of the oracle, 
and determined to secure the assistance of the god, made the 
most splendid offerings, under the notion, (which was contrary 
to the system of heathen mythology? but an inconsistency 
which we find constantly exhibited in the practice of the Pa- 
gans,) that, what they called the inevitable decrees of the 
Fates, could be changed by very costly sacrifices. He offered 
up three thousand chosen victims ; he collected a great number 
of couches decorated with gold and silver, many goblets of gold 
and vests of purple, and consumed them all upon one immense 
pile. He persuaded his subjects also to offer up, in like man- 
ner, the proper objects for sacrifice, which they respectively 
possessed. Of the gold which melted and flowed together, he 
formed a number of tiles, and constructed also a lion of pure 
gold, which weighed ten talents. This, placed on the tiles, 
was conveyed to Delphi ; he sent also to the same temple, two 
large cisterns, one of gold and one of silver, and two basins of 
the same metals, some silver dishes, the figure of a woman in 
gold, and his wife's necklaces and girdles. 

When these precious offerings were presented, in return for 
the sagacity of the oracle, the important question was put, 
"Whether he might proceed against the Persians, and whether 
he should require the assistance of any allies ? " The answers 
were satisfactory. He was assured, " That if he prosecuted 
the war with Persia, he should overthrow a mighty empire." 
The gratitude of the oracle on this occasion overcame its usual 
mysterious discretion. The Delphians assigned to Croesus and 
the Lydians the privilege of first consulting the oracle, in 
preference to other nations, a distinghished seat in their tem- 
ple, and the right of being enrolled among the citizens of 
Delphi. 

His desire of inquiring into futurity increased; that blind- 
ness to the future, so kindly given, he earnestly longed to re- 
move, and he asked, "Whether his power would ever suffer 
diminution?" The oracle now reassumed its enigmatical style 
of response, and replied, 

" When o'er the Medes a mule shall sit on high, 
O'er pebbly Hermus then, soft Lydian fly ; 
Fly with all haste ; for safety scorn thy fame, 
Nor scrapie to deserve a coward's name." 
16 



182 HISTORICAL EExlDER. 

Croesus was more delighted than before, confident that a mule 
would never be sovereign of the Medes. 

The Lacedemonians, gratified with the offer of his alliance, 
cordially acceded to his proposed terms of confederacy. But, 
all the offerings and exertions of the king of Lydia were una- 
vailing, and the deluded monarch's capital was taken. During 
the storm of the city, Croesus, overwhelmed by his calamity, 
took no care to escape death; and when a Persian was about 
to kill him, Herodotus relates, that his dumb son, who had 
never before articulated, cried out, " Oh, man, do not kill 
Croesus." Cyrus gave orders that Croesus should be placed 
in chains upon the summit of a huge wooden pile, and fourteen 
Lydian youths around him. The words of the Athenian legis- 
lator now possessed his mind, and, rousing himself from the 
profound silence of affliction, he thrice pronounced aloud the 
name of Solon. Being asked to explain what he meant, he 
replied, " I named a man with whom I would rather that all 
kings should converse, than be master of the greatest riches." 
The cruelty of Cyrus relented ; the captive monarch was un- 
bound, and was admitted into his friendship. The fallen king 
indignantly sent his fetters to the god of Greece, and the 
unabashed oracle, in return, reproached Croesus for want of 
sagacity. 

The Lydians are the first people on record who coined gold 
and silver. They claimed, also, the invention of certain games, 
since used among the Grecians. They were guilty of the 
grossest licentiousness. 

'6. Caria. The chief town was Halicarnassus, (the birth 
place of Herodotus, the father of history, and of Dionysius,) 
famous for the monument of Mausolus, erected by his queen, 
Artemisia, to celebrate the memory of a husband whom she 
tenderly loved. This monument, which passed for one of the 
seven wonders of the world, had its name from the king, and 
all other magnificent sepulchres and tombstones have received 
the same name. It was built by four celebrated architects. 
A pyramid was raised over it, and the top was adorned with a 
chariot drawn by four horses. 

Artemisia is said to have drunk, in her liquor, her husband's 
ashes, after his body had been burnt. She invited all the 
literary men of her age, and proposed rewards to him, who 
should compose the best elegiac panegyric upon Mausolus. 
But her grief was inconsolable, and it preyed on her spirits, 
and brought her to the grave. She assisted Xerxes in his- 
expedition against Greece, and her valor was so great, that 



HISTORICAL READER. 183 

the monarch observed, " that all his men fought like women, 
and all his women like men." 

At Cnidus, which was sacred to Venus, was a celebrated 
statue, made by Praxiteles; and near Halicarnassus, the 
celebrated fountain Salmacis, which was said to render men 
effeminate. 

7. Lycia. The principal towns of this kingdom were Tel- 
messus ; Xanthus, on a river of this name; Patara, famous for 
an oracle of Apollo ; Limyra, near which was Chelidonium, 
whence mount Taurus begins ; Olympus, at the foot of a 
mountain of that name; and Phaselis. The chief mountain 
of Lycia is Cragus, one of the ridges of which emitting flame, 
originated the poetic fiction of the three-fold monster Chimaera, 
composed of a lion, a goat, and a dragon. 

The inhabitants were praised by the ancients for their sobriety 
and justice, and their great dexterity in the management of the 
bow. The government was anciently republican. The Lyci- 
ans were subdued by Croesus, and afterwards by Cyrus, but 
they had their own form of government, and paid to the 
Persian monarch only a yearly tribute. The country was 
reduced to a Roman province by the emperor Claudius. 

8. Pamphylia and Pisidia are mountainous but fertile 
regions. Between the rivers Cestrus and Cataractes stood 
Perga ; Aspendus on the river Eurymedon, at the mouth of 
which Cimon destroyed the fleet and the army of the Per- 
sians. In Pisidia were Antiochia, Termessus, Lyrba, and 
Selga. There was a magnificent temple of Diana at Perga. 

9. Isauria and Lycaonia are intersected by branches of 
mount Taurus, and were subdued by the Romans under Ser- 
vilius. B. C. 80. The principal towns were Coracesium, 
Sydra, Hamaxia, Selimus, Iconium, Derbe, and Lystra, where 
the Apostle Paul was stoned. 

10. Cilicia is so hemmed in with mountains, that it has 
few passages, and these are very narrow ; hence called Pylse. 
At the mouth of the river Calycadmus is the promontory Sar- 
pedon. Along the coast is Soli, said to have been founded by 
Solon. The Athenians, who settled there, having corrupted 
the purity of their language, are thought to have given rise to 
the term solecism. On the river Cydnus, which had almost 
proved fatal to Alexander, stood Tarsus, where the Apostle 
Paul was born. The inhabitants of this city are said to have 
excelled those of Athens and Alexandria in the study of phi- 
losophy and the sciences. On the confines of Syria, the 
mount Amamus, now Monte Negro, often mentioned by 



184 HISTORICAL KEADER. 

Cicero, approaches so near the sea as to form the pass called 
Pylse Syrise, or Amanicse, near which stood Issus, not far 
from the river Pinarus, where Alexander gained his cele- 
brated victory over Darius. Here the conqueror built 
Alexandria, now Scanderoon, the port town to Aleppo; at 
some distance from it is Nicopolis. 

11. Cappadocia is situate between the Halys, the Euphra- 
tes, and the Euxine. Among the Romans, the people of this 
country were noted for their vices, and a wicked man was 
emphatically called a Cappadocian. The kingdom was redu- 
ced to a Roman province in the time of Tiberius. The Romans 
are said to have offered this people their liberty in consideration 
of their fidelity to their interests, but the Cappadocians (wisely, 
if they were so wicked as they are represented,) rejected the 
offer. This country was famous for its horses and mules, and 
slaves. 

12. Pontus extended along the Euxine from Colchis to the 
river Halys, the kingdom of Mithridates. East from Halys 
stood Amisus. Amasia was the birth place of Strabo, the 
geographer. 

Along the river Thermodon is supposed to have been the 
country of the Amazons, a nation of celebrated women, who 
employed all their life in wars and manly exercises. The male 
children are said to have been strangled as soon as they were 
born. The right breast was burnt off, that they might hurl a 
javelin with more force, and make a better use of the bow. 
These women are said to have founded an extensive kingdom 
in Asia. Strabo denies altogether the existence of these female 
warriors, but Justin and Didorus are strenuous in support of 
the common opinion, and give marvellous accounts of their 
exploits. 

On the borders of Colchis stood Trapesus. Colchis is famous 
for the expedition of the Argonauts, so called from the ship 
Argo, which conveyed Jason and his forty-five companions, the 
most illustrious young men in Greece. B. C. 1263. The poets 
say, that this fleece had been the fleece of a ram on which 
Phryxus and Helle were carried through the air. Helle, 
becoming giddy, fell into the strait, called from her the 
Hellespont, but Phryxus reached Colchis in safety, and ac- 
cording to the directions of his mother, sacrificed the ram to 
Mars, and suspended its golden fleece in the temple of that 
god, where it was continually guarded by bulls that breathed 
fire, and a dragon that never slept. The king of Colchis, at 
first, treated Phryxus with kindness, but, afterwards, killed him 



HISTORICAL READER. 185 

for the sake of the fleece, having been told by an oracle, that 
he should reign as long as the golden fleece remained in the 
temple of Mars. 

Jason, who was educated by the Centaur Chiron, (the Cen- 
taurs were fabulous animals, half man and half horse; in the 
existence of which, however, Plutarch, Pliny, &c, believed,) 
being deprived of his right to the crown of Iolcos in Thessaly, 
was promised that he should be put in possession, if he w 7 ould 
fetch the golden fleece. He met with various adventures du- 
ring his voyage, in the number of which, the expulsion of the 
Harpies from the kingdom of Phineus is not the least remarka- 
ble. (The Harpies were winged monsters, that had the face 
of a woman i the body of a vulture, and their feet and fingers 
armed with sharp claws.) Instructed by Phineus, he, at length, 
reached Colchis in safety. The king, intending to tantalize 
the intrepid adventurer, promised the fleece on conditions which 
he believed impracticable. He had to force to the yoke the 
brazen footed bulls, whose nostrils breathed flames, and to 
plough with them a field sacred to Mars, never before tilled ; 
to kill the sleepless dragon which guarded the fleece; and to 
sow in the ground ploughed by the bulls, the teeth of the dra- 
gon ; and to destroy the armed men that would spring up from 
this iron seed. All these perilous and apparently impossible 
tasks were successfully performed by the aid and advice of the 
sorceress Medea, the king's daughter, whom he promised to 
marry, if her promises were fulfilled. By her magic herbs, 
he was rendered invulnerable from the breath of the bulls, the 
dragon was lulled to sleep w r ith a juice which she prepared, 
and by throwing a stone, according to her directions, amongst 
the armed men, the fruit of the teeth, f hey fell by mutual slaugh- 
ter. Jason seized the fleece, returned in triumph to his native 
country along with Medea, who carried with her a brother, 
a youth, whose limbs she tore in pieces, and threw in different 
places at a distance from each other, that she might outstrip 
her father, who was in pursuit, by occupying him with gath- 
ering the scattered members. Jason having lived ten years 
in harmony with Medea, divorced her, and married Crcma. 
The enraged sorceress slew her sons in his presence, set fire 
to the palace, and burnt Creusa with a poisoned robe. 

13. Paphlagonia. The principal towns were Sinope, the 
birth place of Diogenes the Cynic, and Carambis, near a fa- 
mous promontory of the same name, now Karempi. 

14. Bithynia extended from the Thracian Bosphorus to the 
river Parthenias. On the Propontis, near the mouth of the 

16* 



186 HISTORICAL READER. 

river Ryndacus stood Apamea. North of it Nicomedia, and 
near it Libyssa, the burial place of Hannibal. On the Bospho- 
rus stood Chalcedon, now Scutari. On the Euxine sea stood 
Calpas, at the mouth of the river Calpas a celebrated harbor. 
At the foot of mount Olympus stood Prusa, for some time the 
capital of the Turks. 

The most remarkable cities along the sea coast of Asia 
Minor, were settled by Greek colonies. 

15. Gallatia, or Gallogrecia. It got this name from the 
Gauls, who settled in it about 270 B. C. The chief towns were 
Ancyra, now Angoura, and Tavium. 

16. Phyrgia Magna. In the north, near the source of the 
river Sangarius, stood Pessinus, famous for the ancient temple 
of Cybele, at the foot of Mount Dindymus; south of it was 
Gordium, celebrated for the Gordian knot, which Alexander 
cut with his sword, instead of trying to untie it: — During a 
sedition, the Phrygians consulted the oracle, and were told that 
all their troubles would cease as soon as they chose for their 
king, the first man they met going to the temple of Jupiter in 
a chariot. Gordius became their king, and he immediately 
consecrated his chariot in the temple of Jupiter. The knot 
which tied the yoke to the draught tree, was made in so artful 
a manner, that the ends of the cord could not be perceived. 
From this circumstance a report was soon spread, that the 
empire of Asia was promised by the oracle to him that could 
untie the knot. 

On the river Lycus, stood Laodicaea and Colosse ; north of 
which was Apamea, on the river Marsyas. where Apollo is 
said to have flayed alive one Marsyas, for presuming to contend 
with him in music. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



WAR WITH JUGURTHA, KING OF NUMIDIA. 

B. C. 108. Numidia was a kingdom of Africa, bounded on 
the north by the Mediterranean Sea ; on the south by Getulia, 
or part of Lybia Interior ; on the west by Mulucha, a river 
which separated it from Mauritania; and on the east by Tusca, 
another river, which bounded it in common with Africa Propria. 
But it was divided differently at different times. The two chief 
States in it were the Massyli, on the east; and the Masssesyli 
on the west. Masinissa was king of the former, and Syphax 
of the latter. They were both called Nomades or Numidce, 
and after the defeat of Syphax became subject to Masinissa. 

The chief towns on the sea coast were, Tabraca, at the mouth 
of the river Tusca; Hippo Regius, near the river Rubricatus; and 
west of this Ruficade. The inland towns: Cirta, the capital, 
near the river Ampsaga ; east of this, was Vaga; south of it, 
Sicca ; and Zama, famous for the defeat of Hannibal by Scipio. 
The situation of Thirmida is uncertain. Among the deserts 
stood Thala and Capsa. 

TheNumidians had been the inveterate enemies of the Car- 
thaginians, and, after the destruction of Carthage, they became 
not only the allies, but, in reality, the dependents of the Roman 
government. 

Micipsa, the king of Numidia, had two sons, Adherbal and 
Hiempsal, and also a nephew, the son of Manastabal, who had 
shared the kingdom with him. Jugurtha, the son of Manasta- 
bal, not being born in marriage, was left in a private condition ; 
but, Micipsa generously took him into his own house, and 
brought him up with his own children. Nature had bestowed 
upon the young Numidian every bodily accomplishment, vigor 
of limbs, dignity of shape and air, with a pleasing, an engaging, 
and an open countenance. Nor was he less distinguished for 
his intellectual qualities, which were of the highest order. 
Despising a life of luxurious indulgence, he was indefatigable 
in the improvement of his various talents. In all the manly 



188 HISTORICAL READER. 

exercises of that military age, and of his own country, which 
was noted for excellent warriors, he particularly distinguished 
himself. In riding, in throwing the dart, in running, in hunt- 
ing, and more especially in attacking the monarch of the 
desert, and other wild beasts, he was without an equal ; and 
yet, he conducted himself with so much humility, that he never 
plumed himself on the exploits, which gained the admiration 
of all his companions; and consequently be obtained the esteem 
and affection, not only of his uncle, but of the whole court. 
But, at length, his generally acknowledged superiority over 
his cousins, began to excite the jealous apprehensions of a fond 
father, who could not bear that his own children should be 
thrown into the shade by the splendor of the illegitimate pro- 
tege. A person of a majestic figure, expert in all bodily 
exercises, gracious and affable in his deportment, was well 
qualified to captivate the populace by his exterior appearance, 
and to gain the favor of men of sense by his more solid accom- 
plishments. 

The king, reflecting on the tender years and the very 
inferior attractions of his sons, on the temptations of a throne, 
and the fondness of the Numidians for his nephew, and appre- 
hending that the daring and ambitious spirit of Jugurtha might 
meet with a favorable opportunity to display itself, earnestly 
desired his death; and he was deterred only by the fear of 
sedition or rebellion, from using violent means to quiet his 
fears* His only hope was in the chance of war, in which 
Jugurtha was the foremost in action, being particularly desi- 
rous of military glory. A favorable opportunity presented 
itself, on the application of the Roman people for soldiers to 
assist in the Numantine war. Jugurtha was appointed gene- 
ral of the Numidian forces. Having studied the character of 
Scipio, the Roman commander, he soon succeeded in gaining 
his esteem and confidence, by his strict submission to all orders, 
by his unwearied assiduity, and by his intrepid bearing. By 
constantly exposing himself in the front of the battle, by his 
unwearied labor, and uniform self-denial, he gained the admi- 
ration and affection of the Roman army. And he was as wise 
in the council, as he was valiant in the field. Scipio employed 
Jugurtha to execute all his dangerous projects, and daily gave 
him fresh instances of his approbation and friendship. The 
measures and undertakings of the Numidian seldom failed of 
success. And by his magnanimity and generosity, by his 
dexterity and wit, he won the familiar friendship of many of 
the officers in the Roman army. 






HISTORICAL READER. 189 

"There were at this time," says Sallust, "in our army 
many men of low and high birth, of a factious spirit, who 
had great influence at home and abroad, to whom riches were 
more precious than virtue and honor, that inflamed the ambition 
of Jugurtha, by the offer of their service, and the intimation, 
that if Micipsa was no more, his distinguished merit, and 
the venality of Rome, would put him in possession of the 
crown." 

After the reduction of Numantia, Micipsa, influenced by the 
high commendations of Scipio, endeavored to secure for a friend 
and protector of his children, him whom he could not destroy 
as an enemy ; and, with this view, he adopted him, and left 
him joint heir with his own sons. A few years after, when 
his health was rapidly declining, the king urged his nephew 
with great earnestness, and in a very affectionate manner, to 
act with sincerity and kindness to his children. " I entreat and 
conjure you," he said, " by this right hand, to love these my 
sons, who are your relations by birth, and brothers by adop- 
tion, and not to prefer strangers before those who are bound to 
you with the ties of consanguinity. Armies and treasures are 
not the firm defence of a kingdom, but friends, whom you 
cannot secure by arms, nor purchase with gold. These invalu- 
able blessings are procured by fidelity and kindness. And, 
who should be more friendly than a brother to a brother? or 
what stranger can you find faithful; if you become an enemy to 
your own relations. I deliver to you a kingdom, that will be 
firmly established, if ye act virtuously, but will soon be reduced 
to weakness, if ye disregard my injunctions. For small states 
increase by unanimity, but the greatest fall to pieces by discord. 
And it is particularly incumbent upon you, Jugurtha, who are 
superior in age and wisdom, to take care that all things be 
properly conducted. In every dispute, the more powerful and 
influential, although he may be the aggrieved person, is, in 
consequence of his superiority, believed to be the aggressor. 
And you, Adherbal and Hiempsal, respect and love this -dis- 
tinguished personage, imitate his virtues, and strive, to the 
utmost of your power, to save me from the reproach of having 
adopted children superior to my own." 

Jugurtha, though he was aware of the king's insincerity and 
jealousy, made a gracious reply. A few days put an end to 
all the anxious fears of the king ; and, almost immediately after 
his funeral, his worst apprehensions were fulfilled. When the 
three princes were assembled to consult about their affairs, -a 
violent dispute arose respecting the place of honor. When 



190 HISTORICAL READER. 

this matter of ceremony was arranged, Jugurtha proposed that 
all the statutes and decrees of the five foregoing years should 
be repealed, as the king was superannuated. To this proposal 
the jealous and impetuous Hiempsal immediately replied, "By 
all means; I am entirely of your opinion ; for within the three 
last years you were adopted." 

An expression, that escapes the lips in a moment, not 
unfrequently imbilters the rest of life. These words were in 
the heart of Jugurtha " as a burning fire shut up in his bones; 
he was weary with forbearing, and he could not stay." " The 
saying," writes Sallust, "sank more deeply into the mind of 
Jugurtha than any one conceived. And from this time, exci- 
ted with fear and rage, he was solely intent on devising some 
artful contrivance to destroy Hiempsal." An opportunity was 
soon afforded. The host, with whom the king's younger son* 
had taken up a temporary residence, admitted, by night, a party 
of soldiers, who cut ofFHiempsal's head, and carried it to their 
master. 

The following speech of Adherbal to the Senate will suffi- 
ciently unfold the sequel of this cruel and barbarous act. How 
astonishing, that a man so highly gifted with every personal 
and intellectual advantage; so rich in the means of conferring 
the most important blessings on his species, should pervert 
all his opportunities of usefulness, and become a curse to 
mankind, and a prey to the most malignarrt and miserable 
passions. 

Speech of Adherbal to the Roman Senate ^ imploring their 
protection against Jugurtha, 

" Fathers : It is known to you, that king Micipsa, my father, 
on his death bed, left in charge to Jugurtha, his adopted son, 
conjointly with my unfortunate brother Hiempsal and myself, 
his own children, the administration of the kingdom of Numi- 
dia, directing us to consider the Senate and people of Rome as 
proprietors of it. He charged us to use our best endeavors to 
be serviceable to the Roman commonwealth ; assuring us, that 
your protection would prove a defence against all enemies; 
and would be instead of armies, fortifications, and treasures. 

u While my brother and I were thinking of nothing, but 
how to regulate ourselves according to the directions of our 
deceased father, Jugurtha, the most infamous of mankind, 
breaking through all ties of gratitude and of common humanity, 
and trampling on the authority of the Roman commonwealth, 
procured the murder of my unfortunate brother ; and has driven 






HISTORICAL HEADER. 191 

me from my throne and native country, though he knows I 
inherit, from my grandfather Massinissa, and my father 
Micipsa, the friendship and alliance of the Romans. 

"For a prince to be reduced, by villainy, to my distressful 
circumstances, is calamity enough ; but my misfortunes are 
heightened by the consideration, that I find myself obliged to 
solicit your assistance, fathers, for the services done you by 
my ancestors, not for any I have been able to render you in 
my own person. Jugurtha has put it out of my power to 
deserve any thing at your hands ; and has forced me to be 
burdensome, before I could be useful to you. And yet, if I 
had no plea, but my undeseived misery, who, from a powerful 
prince, the descendants of a race of illustrious monarchs, find 
myself, without any fault of my own, destitute of every support, 
and reduced to the necessity of begging foreign assistance 
against an enemy, who has siezed my throne and kingdom; 
if my unequalled distresses were all I had to plead, it would 
become the greatness of the Roman commonwealth, the arbi- 
tress of the world, to protect the injured, and to check the 
triumph of daring wickedness over helpless innocence. But, 
to provoke your vengeance to the utmost, Jugurtha has driven 
me from the very dominions which the senate and people of 
Rome gave to my ancestors, and from which my grandfather 
and my father, with your assistance, expelled Syphax and the 
Carthaginians. Thus, fathers, your kindness to our family 
is defeated; and Jugurtha, in injuring me, throws contempt 
on you. 

"Alas! how miserable is my condition! O! father Mi- 
cipsa! is this the consequence of your generosity, that he whom 
you raised to an equality with your own children, should be- 
come the destroyer of your family? Must, then, the royal 
house of Numidia always be a scene of havoc and blood? 
While Carthage remained, we suffered, as was to be expected, 
every kind of injury and hardship from the hostile attacks of 
our cruel neighbors ; our enemy was near; our only powerful 
ally, the Roman commonwealth, at a distance. When that 
scourge of Africa was no more, we congratulated ourselves on 
the prospect of established peace. But, instead of peace, behold 
the kingdom of Numidia drenched with royal blood, and the 
only surviving son of its late king, flying the artful snares of 
a murderer, who, with astonishing audacity, has killed his 
cousin, my own brother. No where am I more in danger than 
in my own kingdom. 

" Whither! O, whither shall I fly ? If I return to the royal 



192 HISTORICAL READER. 

palace of my ancestors, my father's throne is seized by the 
murderer. What can I there expect, but that Jugurtha should 
hasten to imbrue in my blood those hands which are now 
reeking with my brother's? If I were to fly for refuge, or for 
assistance, to any other court, from what prince can I hope 
for protection, if the Roman commonwealth gives me up ? 
My royal father is no more: he is beyond the reach of violence; 
and out of hearing of the complaints of his unhappy son. 
Were my brother alive, our mutual sympathy would be some 
alleviation ; but he is hurried out of life in his early youth, by 
the very hand which should have been the last to injure any 
of the royal family of Numidia. The bloody Jugurtha has 
butchered all whom he suspected to be in my interest. Some 
have been destroyed by the lingering torment of the cross ; 
others have been given a prey to wild beasts, and their anguish 
made the sport of men more cruel than wild beasts. If there 
be any yet alive, they are shut up in dungeons, there to drag 
out a life more intolerable than death itself. 

" Look down, illustrious Senators of Rome, from that height 
of power to which you are raised, on the unexampled distresses 
of a prince, who is, by the cruelty of a wicked intruder, be- 
come an outcast from all mankind. Let not the crafty insinu- 
ations of him who returns murder for adoption, prejudice your 
judgment. Do not listen to the wretch who has butchered the 
son and relations of a king, who gave him power to sit on the 
same throne with his own sons. I have been informed that 
he labors by his emissaries to prevent your determining any 
thing against him in his absence, pretending that I magnify my 
distress, and might, as far as he is concerned, have staid in 
peace in my own kingdom. O! how I wish I could see him, 
by whose impious violence I am plunged into this depth of 
calamities, dissembling as I do now. O! that you, and that 
the immortal gods may at length have a due regard to the 
sufferings of humanity. Then, indeed, the wretch, who now 
triumphs in his villainy, after having been tormented with ex- 
cruciating calamities, will suffer the vengeance due to his 
impious ingratitude towards my father, his savage cruelty to 
my brother, and his infamous treatment of myself. O! my 
brother, forever dear to my heart, torn away from my sight 
in the prime of life, by the very person bound, by the most 
sacred obligations, to have sheltered thee from harm. But 
why lament that thy sufferings are over? Thy death did not 
deprive thee of the glory of sovereign power, but rather deliver- 
ed thee from terror, from flight, from exile, and all those 



HISTORICAL READER. 193 

miseries which make life a burden almost too grievous to be 
borne. I am left an awful spectacle to mankind of the vicissi- 
tude and uncertainty of human greatness. Cast headlong 
from my father's kingdom into this miserable condition of 
dependence, I am so bewildered that I know not what to do. 

" Fathers ! Senators of Rome! by your affection for your 
children, by your love for your country, by the majesty of 
the Roman commonwealth, deliver a wretched prince from 
unprovoked injury, and save the kingdom of Numidia, which 
is your own property, from becoming the prey of violence, 
usurpation, and cruelty." 

Adherbal says, he was informed, that Jugurtha labored by 
his emisaries to prevent the Romans from determining any thing 
against him in his absence. And Sallust tells us of the means 
which he adopted to secure a powerful party to advocate his 
cause. " He sent ambassadors to Rome with a great quantity 
of gold and silver, and ordered them, in the first place, to make 
very rich presents to his old friends, and then, by the same 
corrupt means, to gain new ones, and to leave nothing undone 
which the most lavish system of bribery could accomplish." 
It could not be said, in this instance, "that corruption wins 
not more than honesty," for, a great change was immediately- 
perceived in the conduct of many of the most influential men 
in Rome. Jugurtha, whose barbarous conduct had excited a 
feeling of general indignation, had now many friends and zea- 
lous supporters. Some, influenced by an "itching palm," and 
others, who had received the reward of their dishonesty, 
labored strenuously, by using their interest with the members 
of the Senate, that no severe measure should be adopted 
against him. And though there were some, by whom justice 
and equity were more regarded than money, who advised that 
Adherbal should be assisted, and the murderer of his brother 
punished; the majority of that assembly, formerly so highly 
extolled by the ambassadors of Pyrrhus, disgraced themselves 
and their country, by passing over without condemnation the 
savage atrocity of Jugurtha, and decreeing, that the kingdom 
should be equally divided between him and Adherbal. Opimius, 
the murderer of C. Gracchus, was easily won over by the 
splendid presents of Jugurtha, and, being sent to Africa with 
other commissioners, he assigned to his wicked patron the 
richest and most populous division. Jugurtha, now convinced 
of the truth of what he had heard at Numantia, that every 
thing could be obtained at Rome by money, immediately de- 
clared war against Adherbal, besieged Cirta, his capital, and 

17 



194 HISTORICAL READER. 

put Adherbal to death with cruel torture, after he had surren- 
dered on the sole condition of personal safety. 

But, at length, the eloquent indignation of the tribune Mem- 
mius had so powerful an effect, that the Senate svas obliged to 
summon Jugurtha to Rome; and he, trusting to the mercenary 
character of the Senate, and the praetor's pledge for his safe 
return, appeared in the garb, and with the behavior of a person 
in distress. The rage of the people was unbounded, and would 
have put him to death, but Memmius would not suffer the pub- 
lic faith to be violated. Jugurtha was ordered to leave Italy, 
having, during his residence in the city, procured the murder 
of Massiva, a descendant of Masinissa. It is said, that when 
he had left the city, he frequently looked back without saying 
a word, and, at last, exclaimed, "O! venal city, ripe for destruc- 
tion, and ready to sell thyself, whenever there shall be found a 
purchaser." 

Csecilius Metellus was, at last, sent against Jugurtha. 
Marius and Sylla succeeded Metellus ; and the cruel and crafty 
tyrant was, at length, betrayed by his father-in-law, Bocchus, 
and he was delivered into the halids of Sylla, after having 
protracted the war for five years. Marius, on his return to 
Rome, had a triumph for his conquest of Numidia. The 
principal ornaments of the procession were Jugurtha and his 
sons in chains. It is said, that the fallen tyrant appeared like 
a man out of his senses. When the barbarous spectacle was 
over, he was thrown into prison, being condemned to be starv- 
ed to death. The jailors, in their haste to strip him, tore off 
the tips of his ears, to get the pendants which he wore in them. 
Six whole days he passed in the dungeon, struggling with famine, 
and retaining to the last moment an ardent desire of life. 

" 0, coward conscience! how dost thou amlct me! 
Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh, 
For hateful deeds committed 'gainst my blood. 
I am a villain, and I hate myself. 
My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, 
And every tongue brings in a several tale ; 
And every tale condemns me for a villain ! 
Perjury, perjury, in the highest degree — 
Murder, stern murder, in the dir'st degree, 
All several sins, all us'd in each degree — 
Throng to the bar, crying all— guilty, guilty.'' 



CHAPTER XIX. 



CAIUS MARIUS. 



The birth of Marius was obscure, and his education wholly 
In camps, where he learnt the first rudiments of war under 
the younger Scipio; till by long service, distinguished valor, a 
peculiar hardiness and patience of discipline, he advanced, 
gradually, through all the steps of military honor, with the 
reputation of a brave and complete soldier. The obscurity of 
his extraction, which depressed him in the estimation of the 
nobility, enhanced his merits in the regard of the people, who, 
on all occasions of danger, thought, him the only man fit to be 
trusted with their lives and fortunes : and he confirmed their 
favorable opinion of his military talents, by twice delivering 
them from very numerous and powerful enemies, who threat- 
ened to overwhelm the Roman commonwealth. At the time 
of his election to the tribuneship, he had maintained an unex- 
ceptionable character. He was known as a skilful officer, a 
brave soldier, a man of singular assiduity and alacrity in ser- 
vice, of unblemished life, and exemplary sobriety. The oppo- 
sition which he constantly received from the nobles, their 
general insolence to the plebeians, their constant violation of 
the liberties of the people, and, more especially, the contemptu- 
ous treatment which he received from the haughty Metellus, 
under whom he served in Africa, soured his mind, roused his 
indignation, and hurried him on to the perpetration of those 
horrible acts of vengeance, which deluged the streets of Rome 
with blood, and made his name execrable to all posterity. 

During his tribuneship he was regarded as a man of inflexible 
resolution, not to be influenced by fear or respect of persons, 
and consequently, one that would prove a bold defender of the 
people's privileges against the Senate. He had the virtue to 
endanger his popularity by strenuously opposing a proposition 
for a distribution of corn among the plebeians — an action 
which gained equal esteem from the judicious among the two 
parties which divided the State. 



196 HISTORICAL READER. 

Being afterwards appointed to the queestorship, he usefully 
distinguished himself in Spain, by making successful efforts to 
put down the numerous bands of robbers, who, at that time, 
infested the country. On his return to Rome he earnestly 
solicited public offices, being anxious to enhance his fame by 
sharing in the administration of civil affairs. His high spirit, 
his indefatigable industry, and his plain and unostentatious 
mode of life, raised him so high in public estimation, that he 
was elected to various important offices ; and he considerably 
advanced his influence by a matrimonial alliance with the 
illustrious family of the Csesars. He married Julia, the 
aunt of Julius Csesar. 

The Jugurthine war afforded Marius a fine field for the 
exercise of his military talents. In the rank of lieutenant of 
Metellus, he signalized his skill and courage by the exertion of 
all his powers. He neither declined the most difficult service, 
nor thought the most servile beneath him. Thus, surpassing 
his equals in prudence and foresight, and the common soldiers 
in abstemiousness and labor, he entirely gained their affections. 
" For," as Plutarch observes, "it is no small consolation to any 
one, who is obliged to work, to see another voluntarily take a 
share in his labor, since it seems to take off the constraint. 
There is not indeed a more agreeable spectacle to a Roman 
soldier, than that of his general eating the same dry bread 
which he eats, or lying on an ordinary bed, or assisting his 
men in drawing a trench or throwing up a bulwark. For, the 
soldier does not so much admire those officers who let him 
share in their honors or their money, as those who will partake 
with him in labor and danger; and he is more attached to 
one who will assist him in his work, than to one ivho will 
indulge him in idleness" 

By these means, Marius gained the hearts of the soldiers : 
his glory, his influence, his reputation spread though Africa, and 
extended to Rome. The men under his command wrote to their 
(friends at home, that. the only means of putting an end to the 
-war would be to elect Marius consul. And the ambition of the 
lieutenant seconded the ardor of his soldiers. Metellus, envi- 
ous of his reputation, inconsiderately gave a stimulus to the 
lofty designs of his subordinate officer. "You think, then, 
my good friend," said he, tauntingly, " to go home to solicit 
the consulship; will you not be content to stay and be consul with 
this son .of mine?" Marius hastened to Rome, and promised 
that if elected to the command of the army, he would soon either 
kill or take Jugurtha alive. 



HISTORICAL READER. 197 

The nobles exerted themselves to the utmost to oppose his 
election, but on this occasion, all their envious efforts were iu 
vain, for Marias was triumphantly elected through the extra- 
ordinary zeal of the plebeians. His indignation was roused 
against the patricians, and he attached, Sallust says, at one 
time, particular persons, and at another, the whole body. He 
would often boast, that he had wrested from them the consulship 
as spoil from the vanquished, and he spoke many other things 
tending to his own glory, but to their bitter mortification. Yet, 
he devoted himself with unwearied assiduity to the preparations 
which he deemed necessary for bringing the African war to a 
successful termination. Nor durst the Senate venture to refuse 
him any thing which he deemed requisite. They imagined 
that he would have great difficulty in procuring recruits, as the 
service was, they believed, generally disliked by the people. 
But they were much deceived and disappointed. The levies 
were soon raised ; so great was the attachment of the people, 
that an eager desire to accompany him prevailed. Marius, on 
this occasion, is represented by Sallust, as making the follow- 
ing harangue to the Romans : 

Speech of Marius* 

" It is but too common, my countrymen, to observe a 
material difference between the behavior of those, who stand 
candidates for places of power and trust,- before and after their 
obtaining them. They solicit them ii\one manner, and execute 
them in another. They set out with a great appearance of acti- 
vity, humility, and moderation : and they quickly fall into 
sloth, pride, and avarice. It is, undoubtedly, no easy matter 
to discharge, to the general satisfaction, the duty of a supreme 
commander in troublesome times. I am, I hope, duly sensible 
of the importance of the office I propose to take upon me, for 
the service of my country. To carry on, with effect, an ex- 
pensive war, and yet be frugal of the public money ; to oblige 
those to serve, whom it may be delicate to offend ; to conduct, 
at the same time, a complicated variety of operations ; to con- 
cert measures at home answerable to the state of things abroad; 
and to gain every valuable end, in spite of opposition from the 
envious, the factious, and the dissatisfied ; to do all this, my 
countrymen, is more difficult than is generally thought. And, 
beside the disadvantages which are common to me, with. all 
others in eminent stations, my case is, in this respect, peculi- 
arly hard ; that whereas a commander of patrician rank, if he is 
guilty of a neglect, or breach of duty, has his great connexions, 

17* 



193 HISTORICAL READM. 

the antiquity of his family, the important services of his 
ancestors, and the multitudes he has by power gained in his 
interest, to screen him from condign punishment ; my whole 
safety depends upon myself, which renders it the more indispen- 
sably necessary for me to take care, that my conduct be clear 
and unexceptionable. Besides, I am well aware, my country- 
men, that the eye of the public is upon me; and that, though 
the impartial, who prefer the real advantages of the common- 
wealth to all other considerations, favor my pretensions, the 
patricians want nothing so much as an occasion against me. 
It is, therefore, my fixed resolution, to use my best endeavors, 
that you may not be disappointed in me, and that their indirect 
designs against me may be defeated. I have, from my youth, 
been familiar with toils and with dangers. I was faithful to 
your interest my countrymen, when I served you for no re- 
ward but that of honor. It is not my design to betray you 
now that you have conferred upon me a place of profit. You 
have committed to my conduct the war against Jugurtha. The 
patricians are offended at this. But where would be the wis- 
dom of giving such a command to one of their honorable body, 
a person of illustrious birth, or ancient family, of innumerable 
statues, but of no experience? What service would his long 
line of dead ancestors, or his multitude of motionless statues, 
do his country in the day of battle? What could such a 
general do, but, in his trepidation and inexperience, have re- 
course to some inferior commander for direction in difficulties, 
to which he was not himself equal? Thus, your patrician 
general would, in fact, have a general over him, so that the 
acting commander would still be a plebeian. So true is this, 
my countrymen, that I have myself known those, who have 
been chosen consuls, begin then to read the history of their 
own country, of which, till that time, they were totally igno- 
rant; that is, they first obtained the employment, and then 
bethought themselves of the qualifications necessary for the 
proper discharge of it. I submit to your judgment, Romans, 
on which side the advantage lies, when a comparison is made 
between patrician haughtiness and plebeian experience. The 
very actions, which they have only read, I have partly seen, 
and partly myself achieved. What they know by reading, I 
know by action. They are pleased to slight my mean birth; 
I despise their mean characters. Want of birth and fortune is 
the objection against me : want of personal worth, against them. 
But are not all men of the same species? What can make a 
difference between one man and another, but the endowments 



HISTORICAL READER. 199 

of the mind? For my part, I shall look upon the bravest man 
as the noblest man. Suppose it were inquired of the fathers of 
such patricians as Albinus and Bestia, whether, if they had 
their choice, they would desire sons of their character, or of 
mine ; what would they answer, but that they should wish the 
worthiest to be their sons? If the patricians have reason to 
despise me, let them likewise despise their ancestors, whose 
nobility was the fruit of their virtue. Do they envy the honors 
bestowed on me? Let them envy, likewise, my labors, my 
abstinence, and the dangers I have undergone for my country; 
by which I have acquired them. But those worthless men 
lead a life of inactivity, as if they despised any honors you 
could bestow; while they aspire to honors, as if they had de- 
served them by the most industrious virtue. They arrogate 
the rewards of activity for their having enjoyed the pleasures 
of luxury. Yet none can be more lavish than they are in the 
praise of their ancestors. And they imagine they honor them- 
selves by celebrating their forefathers : whereas, they do the 
very contrary. For, as much as their ancestors were dis- 
tinguished for their virtues, so much are they disgraced by 
their vices. The glory of ancestors casts a light upon their 
posterity ; but it only serves to show what the descendants 
are. It alike exhibits to public view their degeneracy, and 
their worth. I own I cannot boast of the deeds of my fore- 
fathers; but I hope I may answer the cavils of the patricians, 
by standing up in defence for -what I myself have done. Ob- 
serve, now, my countrymen, the injustice of the patricians. 
They arrogate to themselves honors on account of the exploits 
done by their forefathers, while they will not allow me the due 
praise for performing the very same sort of actions in my own 
person. He has no statues, they cry, of his family. He can 
trace no venerable line of ancestors.-— .-What then? Is it 
matter of more praise to disgrace our illustrious ancestors, 
than to become illustrious by our own good behavior? What, 
if I can show no statues of my family ! I can show the 
standards, the armor, the trappings, which I have myself 
taken from the vanquished. I can show the scars of those 
wounds, which I have received in facing the enemies of my 
country. These are my statues. These are the honors I 
boast of; not left me by inheritance, as theirs ; but earned by 
toil, by abstinence, by valor, amidst clouds of dust and seas 
of blood; scenes of action, where those effeminate patricians, 
who endeavor, by indirect means, to depreciate me in your 
esteem, have never dared to show their faces." 



200 HISTORICAL READER. 

Marius prosecuted the war in Numidia with great vigor and 
success; but the quaestor Scylla in some measure, robbed the 
consul of the glory of his exploits in Africa, by obtaining, 
through treacherous means, the person of Jugurtha. Sylla 
caused a seal to be made, which represented the infamous 
traitor Bocchus delivering Jugurtha up to him. With this he 
always sealed his letters, and thus excited in the mind of 
Marius that feeling of aversion, which, nurtured by a mutual 
spirit of rivalry and ambition, deluged Rome with the best blood 
of its citizens. Hooke, however, questions the correctness 
of this statement, and says, that this dispute, respecting the 
glory o.f ending the Jugurthine war, occurred fifteen years 
afterwards. 

At this time, B. C. 102, Rome was surprised by the 
alarming intelligence, that its northern provinces were inva- 
ded by an immense army of 300,000 barbarians, the Cimbri 
and Teu tones, from the Cimbric Chersonesus, (Denmark.) 
When Marius, (who, during his absence was elected a third 
time consul,) was appointed to take the command against this 
formidable host, they had advanced as far as the north of Italy. 
As to their courage, their spirit, and the force and vivacity ' 
with which they made an impression, they may be compared 
to a devouring flame. Nothing could resist their impetuosity; 
all that came in their way were trodden down, or driven before 
them like cattle. Many considerable armies and generals, 
employed by the Romans to guard the Transalpine Gaul, were 
shamefully routed. 

Marius preserved the strictest discipline in the army; he 
trained his soldiers to labor while upon the road; accustomed 
them to long and tedious marches, and compelled every man 
to carry his own baggage, and provide his own victuals. The 
barbarians having passed on to Spain, Marius returned to 
Rome, where he was again elected consul, after having for 
some time affected to decline the honor. Being informed that 
the enemy was returning, he passed the Alps with the utmost 
expedition, and encamped near Aqua? Sextia, not far from the 
mouths of the Rhone. 

At length, this devastating multitude approached the Roman 
army, and, with terrible cries, defied them to battle; but Marius 
declined the challenge. To accustom his troops to the fierce 
countenances and hideous noises of the barbarians, he posted 
his men successively in different corps, upon the ramparts of 
the camp; whence they had a full view of the enemy, who not 
only ravaged the country round about, but frequently insulted 



HISTORICAL READER. 201 

the Romans in their intrenchments. The soldiers having, by 
familiarity with these objects of terror, begun to despise them, 
and having their resentment inflamed by their insolence, mur- 
mured against the general, for not allowing them to attack 
their insulting foes. Pleased with the ardor of his troops, he 
told them, that he only waited for the oracles to declare the 
time and place in which to commence the attack. These 
oracles were two vultures, that he had tamed; and which he 
used to let loose about the camp at the time that he deemed 
proper for beginning an engagement, their appearance being 
considered a good omen ; and a Syrian woman, who was 
esteemed a prophetess. She wore a large purple mantle 
fastened with clasps, and bore in her hand a spear wrapped 
round with bunches of flowers, and was carried about the camp 
in a litter. Great honors were paid to her, and Marius never 
sacrificed without her orders. 

The barbarians, having in vain attempted to force the Roman 
camp, resolved to march on towards Italy. They passed very 
near the intrenchments, and with insolent raillery, asked the 
soldiers, if they had any messages to send to their wives. 
Marius followed the enemy, and on the following morning, the 
Roman soldiers were attacked by a small number of the bar- 
barians, near Aquse Sextise, on the banks of the river. On 
hearing the noise made by the skirmish, 30,000 of the Am- 
brones rushed forth, regulating their march by the sound 
produced by striking their arms at regular intervals; and, all 
keeping time with the tune, they came on crying out, "Am- 
brones! Ambrones! " The Ligurians, who advanced to the 
attack, re-echoed the words, so that the whole field resounded 
with the name; and the officers on both sides joining in it, and 
striving which should pronounce the words loudest, added, by 
this means, to the courage and impetuosity of the troops. The 
enemy, in crossing the river, were thrown into disorder, and 
before they could form again, they were completely routed. 
The Romans, having gained the opposite banks, pursued the 
fugitives to their camps ; where they were assailed by the 
women with swords and axes, gnashing their teeth with rage, 
and discharging their fury upon their husbands, (whom they 
called traitors,) and upon the Romans. They laid hold of the 
Roman shields, endeavored to seize the swords with their 
naked hands, and obstinately suffered themselves to be hacked 
to pieces. 

Yet, myriads of the barbarians remained unconquered. The 
night was passed in dread and perplexity. A cry was heard 



202 HISTORICAL READER. 

from the enemy all night, not like the sighs and groans of 
men, but like the howling and bellowing of wild beasts. The 
neighboring mountains, and the hollow banks of the river, 
returned the sound, and the horrid din filled the whole plains. 
The Romans felt the impressions of terror, and Marius himself 
was filled with astonishment at the apprehensions of a tumul- 
tuous night engagement. But, the barbarians did not advance, 
and two days passed before the battle was renewed. The 
Teutoni, at length, seeing the Romans drawn up for an attack, 
rashly ascended the hill on which they were posted, and sus- 
tained a complete defeat. More than 100,000 were killed or 
taken prisoners. 

Marius selected the most splendid arms for his triumph; the 
rest he ordered to be piled together as an offering to the gods. 
The army, crowned with laurel, stood around the pile, and 
Marius, in a purple robe, and with a torch in his hand, was 
advancing to kindle the enormous and magnificent compila- 
tion; and he had just lifted up both his hands to heaven, when 
horsemen, riding at full speed, were seen approaching. Pro- 
found silence and eager expectation ensued. The messengers 
leaped from their horses, and the whole air rang with accla- 
mations, and the clang of armor at the joyful tidings, that 
Marius was elected consul for the fifth time. 

We are told, that the Massilians walled in their vineyards 
with the bones which they found in the field ; and that the rain 
which fell the winter following, (it is observed, says Plutarch, 
that extraordinary rains generally fall after great battles, an 
observation made many centuries before the invention of gun- 
powder,) soaking in the moisture of putrefied bodies, the ground 
was so enriched, that it produced the next season a prodigious 
crop. 

But, while Marius was enjoying the glory of this scene of 
destruction, Catullus was unfortunate in his efforts to defeat the 
Cimbri. Marius descended quickly into Italy, and posted his 
army behind the Athesis, ( Adige.) These barbarians held their 
enemies in contempt. To show their strength and courage they 
exposed themselves without clothing to the showers of snow; 
and having pushed through the ice and deep drifts, to the tops 
of the mountains, they put their broad shields under them, and 
slid down, regardless of the broken rocks and vast slippery 
declivities. When they had encamped near the river, and 
taken a view of the channel, they determined to fill it up. 
They tore up trees by the roots, and broke off massy rocks, 
and rolled huge heaps of earth, to dam up the current. The 



HISTORICAL READER. 203 

barbarians assaulted and took the fortress from the Romans ; 
but, admiring the bravery of the garrison, that had behaved in 
a manner suitable to the glory of Rome, they dismissed them 
upon certain conditions, having first made them swear on a 
brazen bull. These barbarians set an example of generous 
humanity to the Romans, which they had not the virtue to 
imitate. The country around being at present without defence, 
the Cimbri spread themselves over it, and committed great 
depredations. 

Marius, being called home, refused to accept a triumph, till 
the war was terminated. When his army, which was sum- 
moned from Gaul, arrived, Marius, joined by Catullus, drew 
up the forces in order of battle. He lifted up his hands toward 
heaven, and vowed a hecatomb to the gods, and Catullus pro- 
mised to consecrate a temple to the fortune of that day. In the 
meantime, the Cimbri moved on like a vast sea. But their 
numbers, (their phalanx was three miles deep) were unavailing 
against the strict discipline of the Roman legions. The great- 
est part of the enemy's troops were cut to pieces. The Romans 
drove the fugitives to their camp, where they found the women 
standing in mourning by their carriages. In a state of frantic 
despair, the Cimbrian women killed, indiscriminately, the fugi- 
tives, whether their husbands, brothers, or fathers. They 
strangled their little children, and threw them under the wheels, 
and the horses' feet; and afterwards killed themselves. 

At Rome, the people, on the night they received the news of 
the victory, began their suppers with libations to Marius as to 
a divinity. They styled him the third founder of Rome. 

But the ambition of Marius was not satisfied with all the 
victories he had achieved, and all the glory he had acquired. 

" Glory is like a circle in the water, 

Which never ceaseth to enlarge itself, 

Till, by broad spreading, it disperse to naught." 

Had Marius, at the end of his fifth consulate, expired, he- 
would have been denominated a second Camillus, and his 
name would have been handed down to posterity, as one of 
the most celebrated heroes of antiquity. 

During the war with the Cimbri and their allies, the slaves 
in Sicily again broke out into rebellion. It appears, that the 
king of Bythinia refused to send any recruits to the Roman 
army, on the plea, that many of his subjects had been forcibly 
carried into slavery, by those who farmed the revenues of the 



204 HISTORICAL READER. 

Republic in the east. The complaint appearing to the Senate 
to be well grounded, they passed a decree, that no freemen of 
the Roman allies should, in any province, be treated as slaves; 
and that the pro-consuls and prastors should take care, that all 
such as had been, injuriously forced into slavery should be set 
free. In obedience to this decree, many slaves were liberated; 
but the praetor, at length, influenced by the rich men of the 
island, refused to listen to any more applications, and treated 
with great harshness those who had recourse to him for re- 
dress. Resenting this violation of the decree of the Roman 
Senate, the slaves had recourse to arms, and gained several 
victories over the Roman troops. But, after fighting with 
great bravery many battles, they were at last subdued with 
dreadful slaughter. It is said, that in this and the former servile 
war in Sicily, 1,000,000 slaves were destroyed. 

Marius took an active part in the factious disputes of the 
forum, and eagerly solicited the votes of the people for a sixth 
election to the consulship. He practised the most servile con- 
descensions, assumed an air of gentleness and complaisance 
which was contrary to his nature, and did not scruple to obtain 
the suffrages of the people with money, and to make honesty 
subservient to ambition. The intrepid firmness, which he dis- 
played in battle, forsook him in the assemblies of the people; 
and the least breath of praise or disapprobation disconcerted 
him in his address. 

Elected consul for the sixth time, he soon lost, in the adminis- 
tration of civil affairs, the well merited popularity which he 
had acquired in the field. The whole year of his consulship 
was a year of confusion and tumult. By stooping to the low 
artifices of the demagogue, by associating with some of the 
most abandoned and turbulent citizens of Rome, and by his 
malignant enmity to Metellus, whose contemptuous expression, 
hastily uttered many years before, still rankled in his heart, 
he lost the respect of all the virtuous members ofthecommon- 
wealth. This distinguished warrior, so lately regarded as the 
saviour of his country, had now the bitter mortification to feel 
that he was slighted by the people, and odious to the nobility; 
and when the edict for the recall of Metellus was passed, in 
opposition to his strenuous exertions, he withdrew to Asia 
Minor on pretence of performing a religious vow. Incapable 
of making any figure in peace, and unversed in political know- 
ledge, he saw that all his greatness arose from war, and that in 
a state of inaction, the lustre of his name would altogether fade 
away. He therefore studied to raise new wars, and with this 



HISTORICAL READER. 205 

view, paid a visit to Milhridates, king of Pontus, who had 
reduced many of the neighboring kingdoms of Asia to sub- 
jection. 

This politic king received Marius with great respect, but was 
not a little surprised, when, in the course of conversation, the 
Roman warrior said to him, " You must take your choice ; 
either yield implicitly to every thing that a Roman governor 
prescribes, or expect every ill that the power of Rome can 
inflict." Having gained the knowledge he desired, he returned 
to Rome, but found that his popularity had not revived during 
his absence; and not venturing to stand for the censorship, an 
office to which his ambition aspired, he declared, that he did 
not choose to offend the people by a strict search into their 
lives and conduct. 

He built a house near the forum, either for the convenience 
of his clients, which was the reason assigned, or because he 
hoped to have a greater concourse of people at his gate. In 
this, however, he was mistaken. He had not those graces of 
conversation, that engaging address, which others were masters 
of; and therefore, like a mere implement of war, he was ne- 
glected in time of peace. The preference given to Sylla 
mortified him exceedingly, because he regarded him as a rival 
in the field; and also because Sylla was rising rapidly by 
means of the envy of the patricians towards himself. When 
Bocchus, now king of Numidia, erected in the Capitol some 
figures of victory, adorned with trophies, and placed by them 
a set of golden statues, which represented him delivering 
Jugurtha into the hands of Sylla, Marius burst forth into the 
most vehement expressions of resentment. 

18 



CHAPTER XX. 



SYLLA MARIU3 ITALIAN WAR — WAR WITH MITHRIDATES, 

Lucius Cornelius Sylla was of a Patrician family, and was 
the sixth in descent from Rufinus, who was expelled the Senate 
for having in his house more than ten pounds of plate. It is 
said, that he derived his name from his complexion, which 
was a deep red, interspersed with spots of white, an appear- 
ance that heightened the ferocity of his aspect. His eyes were 
of a lively blue, fierce and menacing. His person was elegant, 
his air noble, his manners easy, and apparently sincere. He 
was the slave of dissipation, but still more the slave of ambition. 
In his youth, he spent much of his time with common mimics 
and hireling dancers ; and went along with them into every 
excess of riot. And, when in the height of his power, he 
would sometimes withdraw from business of consequence to 
the licentious orgies of players and buffoons, in whose society 
he cast off all reserve, appeared on a footing of equality, and 
accommodated his conversation to their low wit and raillery. 
Yet, on some occasions, he assumed a grave and austere man- 
ner; and he was capable of the severest application, when the 
occasion demanded it. He was conversant with all the litera- 
ture of the age, and was the patron of the arts and sciences. 
He was eloquent, liberal, crafty, insinuating; a profound master 
of dissimulation. He stooped to flatter the prejudices and pas- 
sions of the meanest soldier and the lowest of the people, and 
accommodated himself to the humors, pursuits, and opinions of 
all by whom his interest might be promoted. But when suc- 
cess rendered dissimulation and affability no longer necessary, 
his public deportment manifested a spirit of insatiable ambition, 
of unrelenting cruelty, and stern revenge. Plutarch says, he 
was rapacious in a high degree, but still more liberal; in pre- 
ferring or disgracing whom he pleated, equally unaccountable; 
submissive to those who might be of service to him, and severe 
to those who wanted services from him : so that it is difficult to 
say, whether he was more insolent or servile in his nature. 



HISTORICAL READER. 207 

Such was his inconsistency in punishing, that he would 
sometimes put men to the most cruel tortures on the slightest 
grounds, and sometimes overlook the greatest crimes,* he 
would easily take some persons into favor after unpardonable 
offences, while he took vengeance on others for small and 
trifling faults. 

B. C. 90. The Italian States, being refused the freedom of 
Rome, entered into a confederacy to obtain it by forceof arms. 
This war, which is called the Social or Italian war, was car- 
ried on for three years with great fury and doubtful success. 
At last, several of the States obtained their request, and finally, 
each nation of these allies obtained the freedom of Rome, suc- 
cessively, upon laying down its arms. In this war Marius 
and Syila were both engaged ; the former seems not to have 
reaped any fresh laurels, and is accused of being extremely 
slow, irresolute, and inactive ; while Sylla, who had formerly 
distinguished himself in the Jugurthine and Cimbrian wars, 
exhibited extraordinary skill, energy, and valor. 

In these fiercely contested engagements, more that 300,000 
men are said to have been killed; a dreadful sacrifice of human 
life, which the people of Rome justly attributed to the insolent 
injustice of the Patricians, in refusing the reasonable request of 
the Italian States. 

The Romans now declared war against Mithridates ; and a 
violent contest arose between Marius and Sylla (now elected 
consul) for the command of the expedition. Either by lot or 
appointment, it was assigned to Sylla ; but Marius, assisted by 
the violent tribune Sulpicius, proposed that the conduct of the 
war should be transferred to himself, who was now seventy 
years old. Sulpicius surrounded himself with a guard of 3,000 
men, which he called the anti-senate. This man publicly sold 
the freedom of the city to strangers and freed men ; and he 
proposed many laws very offensive to the Senate. To defeat 
these projects, the consuls proclaimed holidays, which lasted a 
long time, during which it was not lawful to assemble the 
comitia. The Senate having refused to revoke the edict con- 
cerning the holidays, Sulpicius and his party drew their 
daggers, pursued the consuls Sylla and Pompeius, and mur- 
dered the son of the latter. Pompeius was deprived of his 
office, and Sylla having escaped the same fate only by revoking 
the obnoxious edict, left the city and joined his army in Cam- 
pania. Marius being now tumultuously appointed to command 
the expedition against Mithridates, two officers were sent to 
Sylla to order him to deliver up the army. These ambassadors 



208 HISTORICAL READER. 

the soldiers immediately murdered ; and Marius, in revenge, 
put to death many of Sylla's friends in the city, and confisca- 
ted their effects. Sylla marched his troops to Rome, and set 
fire to many of the houses. The party of Marius, after a 
vigorous resistance, was defeated, and the victorious Sylla 
obtained a decree from the Senate, which banished Marius, 
his son, Sulpicius, and nine of their adherents ; and he, by 
edict, set a price upon the heads of the exiles, and confiscated 
their estates. Of all the Senators, Q. Mucius Scsevola was 
the only man who refused to concur in the vote; and when 
Sylla endeavored to terrify him by menaces, he boldly answered, 
"Although you should threaten me with death, and give me 
up to those soldiers, with whom you have surrounded the 
Senate-house, you shall never persuade me, for the sake of a 
life now exhausted to the dregs, to pronounce Marius an enemy, 
who has saved Italy and Rome." 

Sulpicius, being taken through the treachery of his slave, 
was put to death, and his head fixed upon the rostra. To 
reward the slave, Sylla gave him his freedom ; and, to punish 
his treachery, caused him to be thrown headlong from the 
Tarpeian rock. The violence of Sylla strengthened the party 
of Marius, and at the election of certain magistrates, the people 
rejected the nephew of the consul, and chose two of the candi- 
dates, whom they thought the most objectionable to him. On 
this occasion, this great dissimulator affected to display a con- 
temptuous indifference, and said, " He was quite happy to see 
the people by his means enjoy the liberty of proceeding as 
they thought proper." But he endeavored to ingratiate him- 
self with the people ; and proposed Lucius Cinna, who was of 
the Marian faction, for consul, having, however, first obtained 
from him, on oath, that he would support his interest. Cinna 
went up to the Capitol with a stone in his hand, and publicly 
swore to be the friend of Sylla, adding this imprecation, " If 
I be guilty of any breach of this alliance, may I be driven from 
the city as this stone is from my hand." Cinna, however, was 
as destitute of principle as the consul himself, and as well 
practised in the arts of dissimulation. As soon as he had 
entered on his office, he gave proof of his insincerity by 
raising commotions in favor of Marius ; and, for this pur- 
pose, distributed an immense sum of money amongst the 
citizens. On the day when the comitia met to determine 
concerning a proposal for dispersing the new citizens among 
all the tribes, the two parties, each headed by a consul, had 
a desperate engagement in the forum, and 1Q S Q00 of the new 
citizens, it is said 3 were slain. 



HISTORICAL READER. 209 

Sylla, waiting for a more favorable opportunity to carry his 
ambitious views into effect, set out for his province; and Cinna, 
defeated in Rome, made a progress through many parts of 
Italy, raising money for the expenses of this civil war, and 
soliciting the allies to join his party. The Senate deprived 
him of his consular office ; and Merula was appointed the col- 
league of Octavius. 

Marius, who had, for six successive years, filled the highest 
office of the commonwealth, an honor which no one had before 
attained, was now a fugitive, wandering about to escape the 
eager search of mercenary wretches, longing to obtain the 
price set upon his head. He, who was so lately on the pinnacle 
of human glory, 

" That did pluck allegiance from all men's hearts 
Loud shouts and salutations from their mouths 
Had his great name profaned with their curse." 

Coasting the shore of Campania, after having endured many 
hardships, and escaped many dangers, being on two or three 
occasions almost in the hands of his pursuers, he was left by 
the sailors, who had saved his life, on the strand. Thus deserted 
by all the world, he sat for some time observing the waves, in 
silent stupefaction. At length, summoning courage from de- 
spair, with much difficulty he rose, and walked in a disconsolate 
manner through wild and devious places; till, by scrambling 
over bogs and ditches full of water and mud, he came to the 
cottage of an old man, who worked in the fens. He threw 
himself at his feet, and begged him to save and shelter a man, 
who, if he escaped the present danger, would reward him far 
beyond his hopes. The cottager told him, "That his hut 
w r ould be sufficient, if he wanted only to repose himself, but 
if he was wandering about, to elude the search of his enemies, 
he would hide him in a place much safer and more retired." 
The great Marius then concealed himself in a hollow place by 
the river, and was covered with a quantity of reeds. 

But not deeming this place secure, as he heard a party 
loudly threatening the old man for having concealed the enemy 
of the Romans, he quitted the cave, and, having stripped him- 
self, plunged into the bog. But he was discovered, dragged 
from his place of concealment, and taken before the magistrates 
of Miturnse. Proclamation had been made through all the 
towns, that a general search should be made for Marius, and 
that he should be put to death wherever he was found. It was 

18* 



210 HISTORICAL READER. 

determined to enforce the cruel edict. No citizen would 
undertake the office ; but a dragoon, either a Gaul or a Cimbri* 
an, went up to him, sword in hand, with an intent to despatch 
him. The chamber in which he lay was somewhat gloomy, 
and a light gleamed from the eyes of Marius, which darted on 
the face of the assassin; while, at the same time, he heard a 
stern voice, saying, " Hast thou the audacity to kill Marius?" 
The barbarian, dismayed, instantly ran away, and throwing 
his sword before the people, cried out, " I have not the power 
to kill Marius." The people of Minturnse relented, and they 
determined " to let the exile go, and await his destiny in some 
other region." "It is time," they said, "that we should dep- 
recate the anger of the gods, for having intended to put to 
death the preserver of Italy." He was conducted to the sea 
coast; he found a vessel provided for him, and, having very 
narrowly escaped death on the shores of Sicily, he, at last, 
landed in Africa. 

. The Roman governor, unwilling to be the executioner of so 
great a man, but afraid to afford him shelter, sent an officer to 
command him to leave the province. Marius, upon hearing 
this, was struck dumb with grief and indignation. He uttered 
not a word for some time, but stood regarding the officer with 
a menacing aspect. At length, the messenger asked him, 
what answer fie should carry to the governor. " Go, (said 
he,) and tell him that sent thee, that thou hast seen Caius 
Marius, an exile, sitting on the ruins of Carthage" 

"I seek 
This unfrequented place to find some ease, 
Ease to the body some, none to the mind, 
From restless thoughts, that like a deadly swarm 
Of hornets arm'd, no sooner found alone, 
But rush upon me thronging, and present 
Times past, what once I was, and what am now." 

" The Desolator desolate ! 

The victor overthrown! 
The arbiter of others' fate, 

A suppliant for his own. 
The triumph, and the vanity, 

The rapture of the strife — 
The earthquake voice of victory, 

To thee the breath of life. 
All quell'd ! Dark spirit ! what must be 
The madness of thy memory.' ' 



HISTORICAL READER. 211 

The exile again put to sea, and having coasted about the 
greater part of the winter, he, at last, met with his son on the 
Numidian shore. Having heard that Cinna was still in arms, 
waging war against the government, they proceeded to Italy, 
and began to raise soldiers. Cinna invited Ma ri us to join his 
party, gave him the title of pro-consul, and sent him the badges 
of authority. But Marius. affecting the character of an injured 
man, would not accept these honors. From the day that he fled 
from Rome, he had worn an old robe, and neglected his person, 
and walked with slow steps, like a man oppressed with calami- 
ties ; but, through the disguise of his doleful countenance, a 
fierce and determined purpose was discerned, that rather created 
terror, than moved compassion. Many of the soldiers of the 
consul Octavius joined Cinna. Liberty being proclaimed by 
©inna, to all the slaves in the city, who should join him, they 
flocked to him in crowds. The Senate, in a state of great 
alarm, proposed terms of accommodation ; but no satisfactory 
answer was returned. They sent new deputies to Cinna, 
acknowledged him consul, and required no other condition of 
peace, than an oath, not to put any of the citizens to death. 
He refused to swear, but gave his promise, that none should 
be. slain without his knowledge, or consent. Marius was 
standing next to Cinna's tribunal, but he did not speak,* his 
countenance, however, tco clearly betrayed the revengeful 
passions which agitated his whole frame. 

Shortly after this conference, Cinna entered Rome, sur- 
rounded with soldiers ; but Marius stopped at the gate, and 
affected to wait for the reversal of the decree of his banish- 
ment. The people accordingly assembled; but, before the 
votes were all taken, he entered the city with a band of 4,000 
slaves. The gates were instantly shut, that none might 
escape ; and a dreadful scene of carnage ensued, as if the 
city had been taken by assault. Many Senators of the first 
consideration became the victims of his vengeance. Antonius, 
the most celebrated orator of Rome, was slain, and his head 
fixed on the rostra ; the consul Octavius was murdered on his 
tribunal, and Ancharius, of praetorian rank, coming to pay 
his respects to the tyrant, was struck dead by the guards, be- 
cause Marius took no notice of him. After this act, these 
assassins considered themselves priveleged to murder any man 
in the street, whose salutation Marius did not return. Cinna's 
revenge seemed to abate, but the fury of Marius was insatiable, 
His appetite for slaughter was sharpened by indulgence* 
Every town and road was full of assassins, pursuing and 



212 HISTORICAL READER. 

hunting the friends of Sylla. And, on this dreadful occasion, 
it was found, that no rights of hospitality, no obligations of 
friendship, were of avail to protect the opposite party; for, 
there were, says Plutarch, very few who did not betray those 
that had taken refuge in their houses. There is one instance 
of fidelity that merits notice ; and it may be presumed, that 
even amidst the general corruption of morals, which luxury 
had introduced, there were many more who retained some ' 
sense of moral principle. The slaves of Cornutus concealed 
their master in the house, and took a dead body out of the 
street, and hanged it by the neck. They put a gold ring on 
the finger, and showed the corpse to the executioners of Mari- 
us, as that of their master ; ajter which, they performed the 
funeral rites. Cornutus was *safely conveyed by these ser- 
vants into Galatia. 

Marius was elected consul for the seventh time ; and, in the 
midst of these murders, he assembled the people, recounted his 
late sufferings, and told them, that being now restored to his 
dignity, it should be still his principal care to preserve that 
courage and virtue which he had never lost. 

Many of the nobles fled to Sylla, who was then in Greece, 
and was returning to Rome with his victorious army. Marius, 
unprepared to resist his formidable rival, was violently agitated 
by the conflicting passions of resentment, envy, and perhaps 
of remorse. He endeavored, but in vain, to quiet his violent 
emotions, by indulging in intemperance; and, in his seventy- 
first year, a pleuretic fever put an end to his miserable 
existence. 

The death of Marius did not deliver the corrupt and wretched 
city from assassinations. Young Marius inherited the impla- 
cable spirit of his father, and many of the nobility became the 
victims of his vengeance and suspicion. Italy was convulsed 
by the strife of contending factions. Cinna declared himself 
consul for the third time, and took for his colleague Papirius 
Carbo. A deputation went to Sylla, entreaticg him to have 
compassion on his country, and hasten to Rome to deliver the 
city and Italy from their tyrants.- But his answer, threaten- 
ing implacable revenge, filled many with dismay, and roused 
multitudes to take up arms in their own defence. Through 
the great misconduct of the generals, these forces were every 
where defeated. Pompey, afterwards styled the Great, signali- 
zed himself in this war as the adherent of Sylla. Cinna, in 
the mean time, was killed in a tumult, and young Marius 
succeeded him; but he was soon afterwards defeated and 
assassin ated^ 



HISTORICAL READER. 213 

At this period of general commotion, Telesinus, a Samnite 
officer of great experience in war, projected the total destruc- 
tion of the city. He walked through the ranks of the army, 
and cried out, " The Jast day of Rome is come. The city 
must be razed to the ground. Wolves will never be wanting 
to prey upon the liberties of Italy, till the wood in which they 
shelter themselves is cut down." Sylla encountered the Sam- 
nites, and sustained a defeat. When he saw his soldiers giving 
way, he took out of his bosom a little image of Apollo, (which 
he had stolen from the temple of Delphi, and always carried 
with him to the field of battle,) and kissing it with great earn- 
estness, expostulated -with the god for deserting him before the 
gates of his native city. Crassus, however, defeated the left 
wing of the army of the Samnite general, and finally destroyed 
him and his troops. 

The enemy being thus dispersed, and young Marius being 
slain, Sylla marched to Rome, taking along with him 8,000 
prisoners. These men he shut up in a public building ; and, 
whilst he was addressing the Senate, the soldiers, according to 
his orders, began the work of destruction by the murder of the 
prisoners. Their cries and lamentations alarming the Seua- 
tors, he sternly ordered them to attend to his address, as the 
noise was caused merely by the punishment of some seditious 
men. The Romans now experienced, that the savage cruelty 
of the stern Marius was much exceeded by the fiendish malig- 
nity of his successor, who in the midst of his murders, made 
a mock at the blood which he was shedding. It seemed as if 

" Some ruling fiend hung on the dusky air, 
And scatter' d ruin, death, and wild distraction 
On all the wretched race of man below." 

The streets of Rome were filled with slaughter, in execution of 
his declared purpose, not to spare a single person who had 
borne arms against him. In the general consternation, one of 
his friends had the courage to say, " With whom do we propose 
to live, if, in war, we kill all who are in arms, and in peace ail 
who are unarmed?" And C. Metellus asked Sylla in the Senate- 
house, " What end there was to be to these calamities? " and 
added, " We do not petition you to spare such as you have 
determined to destroy, but to quiet the apprehensions of those 
whom you intend to save." The monster answered, " that he 
was not certain whom he should leave alive." He was then 
desired to mention the persons whom he had doomed to death. 
Sylla, on the following day, caused to be fixed up in a public 
place an edict, with a list of the names of eighty persons. 



214 HISTOEICAL READEK. 

whom he had proscribed. A reward of two talents was offered 
for each head ; the estates and effects of the condemned were 
confiscated, and their children and grand-children declared 
incapable of holding any office in the State; and death was 
denounced against those who entertained or saved the pro- 
scribed. 

The number of the proscribed amounted to 4,700; but the 
number of the slain much exceeded this amount. Assassins 
roamed all over Italy, searching for the favorers of Marius. 
The rich were the greatest sufferers, as avarice whetted the 
thirst of vengeance. The notorious Cataline exhibited, during 
this period of massacre, the shocking depravity to which a 
mind of the first order of intellect may be reduced, when un- 
controlled by religious and moral principle. Having caused 
Gratidianus (who had been twice prsetor, who had promul- 
gated a law against the adulteration of the coin, who had 
statues erected to him in all quarters of the city, and before 
which incense had been offered) to be whipped through the 
streets, to be dragged to the tomb of Catullus, to have his legs 
broken, his eyes put out, his hands and ears cut off, he decapi- 
tated him groaning under his sufferings, carried his head to 
Sylla in the forum, and then washed his bloody hands in the 
lustral water, that was at the door of Apollo's temple. A 
Senator, who witnessed this horrible transaction, was put to 
death for fainting away. 

The celebrated Julius Caesar was forced to leave the city to 
save his life. The Vestal Virgins, and several of the chief men 
of Rome, earnestly entreating that he might be saved > Sylla 
answered, " You have prevailed ; but know that he, whom you 
so eagerly wish to save, will one day prove the ruin of the 
party, whom you and I have been defending. You have no 
penetration, if, in that boy, you do not see many Marius's." 

Many of the towns of Italy were razed to the ground, and 
most of the inhabitants -massacred. All the Samnites he put 
to death, or banished. 

" Alas ! poor country, 
Almost afraid to know itself. It cannot 
Be called the mother, but the grave ; where nothing, 
But who knows nothing, is once seen to smile ; 
Where sighs, and tears, and shrieks that rend the air, 
Are made, not mark'd; where violent sorrow seems 
A modern ecstacy ; the dead man's knell 
Is there scarce ask'd for whom ; and good men's lives 
Expire before the flowers in their caps ; 
Dying or e'er they sicken." 



HISTORICAL READER. 215 

Both consuls being dead, and the time for the election of new 
magistrates approaching, Sylla left Rome, and went to his camp, 
whence he wrote to Valerius, advising him to propose to the 
people the creation of a dictator, for an unlimited term; and 
intimated that, with their approbation, he would burden him- 
self with the care of doing the Republic that service. Sylla 
was, of course, appointed to the despotic office for an unlimited 
time ; all his acts were approved ; and the lives and fortunes of 
all the members of the Roman commonwealth were placed 
under his absolute control. B. C. 81. 

After the elections, the dictator made his triumphal entry 
into Rome, on account of his conquest in the east. The pro- 
cession, which lasted two days, was adorned with the richest 
spoils of Asia. The principal ornament of his triumph was a 
long train of Senators, and other eminent citizens, who followed 
his chariot, calling him their father and preserver. After this 
degrading procession, Sylla proceeded to make many impor- 
tant alterations in the constitution, in which the power of the 
Senate was much increased, and the authority of the tribunes, 
the only safeguard of public liberty, was nearly annihilated. 

In his distribution of the spoils, as the confiscated estates 
were called, he manifested his licentious propensities. A whole 
city, and even a province, were given to abandoned musicians, 
players, women, and the most worthless freedmen. 

Having now become absolute master of the Roman world; 
having a Senate made up of his own creatures ; and having 
attained every thing which the most criminal and soaring ambi- 
tion and avarice pant after; having imbrued his hands in the 
blood of thousands of his fellow creatures ; to the astonishment 
of mankind, he unostentatiously abdicated his sovereign power, 
which he had possessed for less than three years, challenged a 
critical examination of his administration, and retired to his 
country house, to give unrestrained indulgence to his vicious 
appetites and passions. The companions of his retirement 
were the basest and most licentious of the populace; yet, with 
great inconsistency, a portion of his time was devoted to literary 
pursuits, and he composed twenty-two books of memoirs con- 
cerning himself. His gross intemperance hastened his end ; 
and he concluded his flagitious life with an act of barbarous 
revenge, having caused, the day before his death, a person to 
be strangled in his presence. He died of a most loathsome 
disease, in the 60th year of his age, and the second of his 
abdication, having vainly endeavored to drown the stings of 
conscience and remorse by continual intoxication. It is not 



216 HISTORICAL READER. 

easy to account for Sylla's abdication. It proves, however, 
that the attainment of his most aspiring hopes could not give 
any rest or satisfaction to his mind. He experienced that all 
was vanity and vexation of spirit. He sought for ease, but he 
sought in vain ; and, actually preferred a state in which he 
could give uninterrupted indulgence to his brutal appetites, to 
all the power, consideration, and boundless wealth of the dic- 
tatorship. 

To attain the envied situation of power, the candidates for 
fortune too frequently abandon the paths of virtue ; for, unhap- 
pily, the road which leads to the one, and that which leads to 
the other, lie sometimes in very opposite directions. But, the 
ambitious man flatters himself, that, in the splendid situation to 
which he advances, he will have so many means of command- 
ing the respect and admiration of mankind, and will be enabled 
to act with such superior propriety and grace, that the lustre of 
his future conduct will entirely cover, or efface, the foulness 
of the steps by which he arrived at that elevation. In some 
instances, the candidates for the highest stations can set the 
laws at defiance; and, if they can attain the object of their am- 
bition, they have no fear of being called to account for the 
means by which they acquired it. They often endeavor, 
therefore, not only by fraud and falsehood, the ordinary and 
vulgar arts of intrigue and cabal; but sometimes by the perpe- 
tration of the most enormous crimes, by murder and assassina- 
tion, by rebellion and civil war, to supplant and destroy those 
who oppose or stand in the way of their greatness. They 
more frequently miscarry than succeed; and commonly gain 
nothing but the disgraceful punishment which is due to their 
crimes. But, though they should be so lucky as to attain that 
wished for greatness, they are always most miserably disap- 
pointed in the happiness which they expect to enjoy in it. It 
is not ease or pleasure, but always honor, of one kind or ano- 
ther, though frequently an honor very ill understood, that the 
ambitious man really pursues. But the honor of his exalted 
station appears, both in his own eyes and in those of other 
people, polluted and defiled by the baseness of the means 
through which he rose to it. 

Though, by the profusion of every liberal expense; though, by 
excessive indulgence in every profligate pleasure, the wretched, 
but usual, resource of ruined characters ; though, by the hurry 
of public business, or by the prouder or more dazzing tumult 
of war, he may endeavor to efface, both from his own memory, 
and from that of other people, the remembrance of what he 



HISTORICAL READER. 217 

has done; that remembrance never fails to pursue him. He 
invokes in vain the dark and dismal powers of forgetful ness 
and oblivion. He remembers himself what he has done, and 
that remembrance tells him, that other people must likewise 
remember it. Amidst all the gaudy pomp of the most ostenta- 
tious greatness ; amidst the venal and vile adulation of the 
great and of the learned ; amidst the more innocent, though 
more foolish, acclamations of the people; amidst all the pride 
of conquest and the triumph of successful war, he is still 
secretly pursued by the avenging furies of shame and remorse; 
and, while glory seems to surround him on all sides, he him- 
self, in his own imagination, sees black and foul infamy fast 
pursuing him, and every moment ready to overtake him from 
behind. 



Mithridates. — During the civil commotions, caused by 
the rivalry and ambition of Marius and Sylla, the Romans 
were engaged in war with the celebrated Mithridates, king of 
Pontus. This war lasted about twenty-six years; it began 
B. C. 89, and ended on the death of Mithridates, B. C. 62. 

Mhhridates VII, surnamed the Great, succeeded to the 
throne at eleven years of age. B. C. 123. During his 
minority, his tutors attempted to destroy him; and his life 
being in constant danger from poison, he was in the practice 
of using antidotes, by which, it is said, he acquired a con- 
stitution that was proof against the most baneful drugs. But 
the historians who relate this circumstance betray their credu- 
lity and their ignorance ; for, though some drugs will neutralize 
the effects of poison after it is taken, yet, the practice of taking 
antidotes would destroy the constitution. 

He applied to the study of medicine, and became so vain of his 
knowledge of this important science, that his courtiers, in order 
to give him an opportunity of displaying his skill, sometimes 
purposely cut and burnt various parts of their bodies. He, at 
an early period, inured his frame to every kind oj hardship-, and 
spent whole months in the open air in the country, braving the 
severity of winter, and resting on the cold earth, or frozen snow. 
He was not, says Justin, on the-approach of winter engaged in 
convivial entertainments, but in the field; not in recreation, but 
in manly exercises ; he did not seek the society of boon com- 
panions, but he studied to excel those of his own age in riding, 
in running, and wrestling. The first acts of his reign were the 
murder of his guardians, his brother, and his mother. He 

19 



218 HISTORICAL READER. 

subdued a great part of Scythia, all Golchis, and the adjoining 
countries; and obliged the Thracians, the Bastarnse, the Sar- 
matse, and all the nations of the Tanais, the Palus Mreotis, and 
at the mouth of the Danube, 4o enter into alliance, and afford 
him recruits for his army. Subsequently, he gained over to 
his interest, under the able conduct of Archelaus, the Achreans, 
the Lacedemonians, the Athenians, Boeotians, and other people 
of the states of Greece. He subdued the island of Delos, which 
had revolted from Athens, slew 20,000 of the inhabitants, and 
plundered the temple of Apollo: the Cyclades also were brought 
in subjection to his power. 

The enterprises of Mithridates in Cappadocia produced an 
open rupture between him and the Romans. Three Roman 
officers opposed Mithridates with the troops levied in some of 
the kingdoms of Asia Minor. The forces of the king of Pon- 
tus were greatly superior, and amounted to 250,000 foot, 
40,000 horse, and 130 armed chariots. His fleet consisted of 
400 ships of war, well manned and provisioned. The Romans 
were defeated, two of their generals were taken, and Aquilius, 
who was regarded the chief author of the war, was led about by 
Mithridates, either bound on an ass, or coupled with a public 
malefactor, and compelled to proclaim to the crowds who came 
to see him, that he was Manius Aquilius, the Roman legate. 
Having been publicly whipped and tortured, melted gold was 
poured down his throat. 

The conqueror was every where received with acclamations 
of joy, as the deliverer of Asia from the tyranny of the Romans. 
The inhabitants flocked to him in white garments, and saluted 
him as their father, their deliverer, their god, the great and sole 
lord of Asia. Determined on extinguishing the Roman power 
in the east, he sent private letters to all the governors and ma- 
gistrates of the cities where the Romans resided, enjoining 
them, on pain of death, and the entire destruction of their 
country, to cause all the Italian race, including women and 
children, to be murdered on the 30th day from the date of his 
letters, and to let their bodies lie unburied in the open streets. 
On the fatal day, all the gates of the cities being shut, and the 
avenues guarded, the king's orders were proclaimed, and a 
scene of horror and massacre ensued. All the sanctuaries of 
the gods were disregarded, and men, women, and children 
were torn from the statues and the altars, and put to death. 
More than 80,000 Romans became the victims of the decree 
of this dreadful tyrant. 

It was now his intention to invade Italy ; but his pride soon 



HISTORICAL READER. 219 

received a humiliating blow from Sylla, who obtained the 
command of the expedition, which Marius was so anxious to 
undertake. The Roman general arrived in Greece with only 
five legions and some Italian cohorts, a force very dispropor- 
tionate to the immense army of his skilful and victorious oppo- 
nent. But he received supplies of men and money from 
iEtoliaand Thessaly; and the Boeotians submitted to him with 
the same readiness they had declared for Mithridates. Sylla 
advanced to attack the Piraeus, the port of Athens. To enable 
him to build towers and engines for carrying on the siege, he 
cut down the sacred woods about Athens, and the trees of the 
fine walks, belonging to the academy and the Lyceum. He 
kept 20,000 mules constantly employed for the service of the 
engines. He sent to the council of the Amphictyons, then 
assembled at Delphi, to desire them to let him have the riches 
of Apollo's temple; and he gave a vague promise, that if he 
should be obliged to make use of them, he would return the 
value. The person sent to bring the treasure, being unwilling 
to violate the temple, and desirous to deter Sylla from this 
profanation, wrote to inform him, that the sound of Apollo's 
jyre had been heard from the sanctuary. But the Roman 
general, whose religion was subservient to his ambition, re- 
plied, that music was a sound of joy, and not of anger, and 
that, therefore, he might, without impiety, bring away the 
treasures. The Amphictyons did not venture to make any 
opposition ; and the consecrated treasures of the temples of 
Jupiter and iEsculapius in Olympia and Epidaurus were also 
appropriated by the impious pro-consul. 

During the siege of the city, the pioneers of the two parties 
not unfrequently met and fought under ground, whilst Sylla 
was engaged in sapping the walls. The city was now in the 
utmost distress for want of provisions. The priestess, who 
attended the sacred lamp, which fed the perpetual fire in Mi- 
nerva's temple, sent to him for a little oil, to keep in the flame, 
but he scornfully refused her request. The deputation of 
priests and senators, he instantly drove back with blows. 

The city was, at length, taken, and the soldiers, by his 
command, put to the sword all whom they met, without any 
distinction of sex or age. The blood flowed out of the gates. 
When the vengeance of this monster was satiated, he conde- 
scended to listen to the urgent importunity of the Roman 
senators in his camp for mercy, and said, that " he pardoned 
the living for the dead." 

After this event, Sylla twice defeated the immense armies 



220 HISTORICAL READER. 

of Mithridates; but, as his presence at Rome was necessary to 
promote his interests, he listened to terms of accommodation. 
The peace, however, was not of long continuance ; and, after 
the death of Sylla, Lucullus was appointed to conduct the 
Mithridatic war. The king of Pontus was defeated in several 
bloody engagements. But Lucullus had the mortification to 
witness the mutiny of his own troops, and to be dispossessed 
of the command by Pompey. This great general pursued 
Mithridates to the river Euphrates ; and, attacking him by 
night, ordered all his trumpets to sound at once, and all his 
soldiers to raise one united shout. This device so much 
alarmed the enemy, that they immediately fled, and lost 10,000 
men. Mithridates was reduced to continue his flight with 
only three companions. Among these was a faithful female 
slave, who, habited and armed like a trooper, rode JJy his side 
in all his battles, accompanied him in all his expeditions, and 
in all his flights. 

Mithridates fled to Tigranes, the powerful king of Armenia, 
but this monarch refused an asylum to his father-in-law, whom 
he had before supported with all the collected forces of his 
kingdom. Mithridates, however, found a safe retreat among 
the Scythians; and, though destitute of power, friends, and re- 
sources, he meditated the destruction of the Roman empire by 
penetrating into the heart of Italy by land. These wild pro- 
jects were rejected by his followers, and he sued for peace ; 
but Pompey refused to receive any propositions, unless they 
were delivered by the king himself. Mithridates resolved to 
conquer or die; but his subjects revolted, and elevated his 
unnatural son, who had always been his favorite child, to the 
throne. Mithridates, who now experienced the instability of 
power, and the misery of restless ambition, sent some of his 
guards to seize the prince; but he was deserted at his utmost 
need, and he heard the cry, " We want a young king, not an 
old one." He came out of the city to remonstrate with them 
on their treason, but the soldiers who accompanied him offered 
their services to the rebels. Having, with difficulty, made his 
retreat, he sent many several messengers to his son, to ask 
permission to be allowed to retire to some place of safety ; no 
answer, however, to his humble supplications was returned. 
The miserable tyrant, reduced to the extremity of distress, (for 
no misery can exceed that experienced from filial ingratitude,) 
imprecated the severest vengeance on his execrable son. "O, 
ye gods, the avengers of fathers, if it be true that you exist, 
and if there be justice in heaven, grant that Pharnaces may, 



HISTORICAL READER. 221 

one day, hear his sentence of death pronounced by his chil- 
dren." 

He called some of his officers and guards, who had proved 
faithful to him, and having praised their generosity, ordered 
them to repair to their new king. This miserable object, 
who, notwithstanding all his heinous crimes, almost excites 
our compassion, retired to his apartment, distributed poison to 
his wives and daughters, and then administered a dose to him- 
self; but, as it did not operate quickly, he had recourse to his 
sword. As his faltering hand did not inflict a fatal stroke, he 
called to a Gallic officer, who, at the head of some rebels, had 
forced the walls of his castle, and implored him, to do the kind 
office of saving him from the shame of falling alive into the 
hands of the Romans, and being led in triumph. And thus 
perished the once mighty king of Pontus; another warning ex- 
ample of the miserable and fatal consequences of unprincipled 
ambition. 

" If more be wanting on so plain a theme, 
Think on the slippery state of human things/ 
The strange vicissitudes, and sudden turns 
Of war, and fate recoiling on the proud, 
To crush a merciless and cruel victor. 
Think there are bounds of fortune, set above ; 
Periods of time, and progress of success, 
And none can push beyond." 

19* 



CHAPTER XXL 



SERTORIUS, 



B. C. 76. Quintus Serlorius, a celebrated Roman general, 
first distinguised himself in the campaign under Marius, against 
the Teutones and Cimbri. When Marius and Cinna entered 
Rome, and rendered themselves infamous by their cruelties, 
he expressed great concern at the murder of so many of his 
fellow countrymen ; and endeavored, but with little effect, to 
stay the hand of the executioners. Proscribed by Sylla, he 
fled for safety into Spain, where he acted with so much ad- 
dress, humanity, and valor, that he was universally revered 
and beloved by the Lusitanians, and established a senate, over 
which he presided with the consular authority, regardless of 
the government of Sylla and his merciless faction. In affa- 
bility, clemency, generosity, and military valor, he was not 
surpassed by any of his eminent contemporaries. 

Of his honorable character he exhibited a memorable proof, 
in this period of almost universal depravity, in the advice 
which he gave to Cinna, who hesitated whether he should 
receive Marius, whom he had invited to join his party in 
their counsels. Though Sertorius had strongly opposed the 
alliance, yet, as soon as he was informed that the exile had 
been invited by Cinna, he said, "I imagined that Marius had 
come of his own accord into Italy, and pointed out to you what 
in that case was most expedient for you to do : but, as he landed 
upon your invitation, you should not have deliberated a moment, 
whether he was to be admitted or not. You should have re- 
ceived him immediately. True honor leaves no room for 
doubt and hesitation." 

When he was convinced that Sylla would firmly establish 
his party in Rome, he hastened to Spain, hoping that, by pru- 
dence and valor, he might succeed in establishing for the present 
an independent government, and have the power of affording 
a refuge and protection to the destined victims of relentless 
tyranny. When he came to a mountain pass, the barbarians 



HISTORICAL HEADER. 223 

insisted that he should pay toll. His attendants were indignant 
at this demand, and wished to force a passage; but he, disre- 
garding the imagined disgrace, said, "Time was the commodity 
he purchased, than which nothing in the world can be more 
precious to a man engaged in great attempts" He found the 
country very populous, and abounding in youth fit for arms ; 
but, at the same time, the people, oppressed by the avarice and 
rapacity of former governors, were unfavorably disposed to 
the Roman yoke. To remove this feeling, he endeavored to 
conciliate the wealthy by his affable and obliging manners, 
and the people by lowering the taxes. And, to relieve them 
from the oppression and annoyance of having his soldiers 
quartered upon them, he compelled his men to pass the winter 
in tents without the walls, himself setting them the example. 

No captain of his age surpassed him in personal bravery, 
boldness of enterprize, and vigor of execution. He understood 
the art of gaining the confidence and affection of his soldiers ; 
he liberally rewarded merit; he reluctantly punished faults, 
but, at the same time, preserved strict discipline ; he set the 
example of cheerfully supporting the fatigue of long watching, 
wearisome marches, and all the hardships incident to a life 
spent in camps. He never drank to excess, and always 
" lived according to the sober laws, and holy dictate of spare 
temperance." 

His valiant success in the field of battle raised his reputation 
so high, that he was called a second Hannibal ; yet, this great 
man did not scruple to promote his interests by the unw 7 orthy 
artifice of abusing the superstitious credulity of the people, by 
means of a milk-white hind, which he so completely tamed, 
that it was attentive to his voice, and followed him wherever 
he went. He represented that this tractable animal was a 
present from the goddess Diana, and had discovered to him many 
important scerets. If he had any private intelligence of a 
victory gained by his officers, he brought the fawn into the 
presence of the people, crowned with flowers ; and bade them 
rejoice and sacrifice to the gods for the good news which they 
would soon receive. 

But nothing contributed more towards his gaining the esteem 
and affection of the principal men of the nation, than the care 
which he took of the education of their children. He appointed 
masters to instruct them in the language and arts of the Greeks 
and Romans. Their parents beheld with delight their sons, 
clothed in robes bordered with purple, walking regularly 
every day to the public schools; and they regarded with 



224 HISTORICAL READER. 

much admiration his superintendence of their studies. For, 
he not only paid the expense of their education, but he visited 
the public seminaries ; he himself examined the pupils, and also 
particularly attended to the qualifications of the teachers. He 
excited a spirit of general emulation, not merely by favoring 
with the expression of his approbation those who improved to 
the best of their ability the advantages which they possessed ; 
but also by distributing amongst them the golden bulla, the 
ornament worn by the children of the richer class at Rome, 
with permission to suspend it at their breasts. 

The great attention which Sertorius paid to education is, 
indeed, worthy of all admiration ; and it is ardently to be 
wished, that his example was assiduously imitated. The con- 
tinuance of the liberal institutions of this country depends on 
the attention which is paid to the education of the rising gene- 
ration. Ignorance and liberty are incompatible with each 
other. Amongst a rude, uneducated people, liberty would soon 
degenerate into licentiousness and anarchy, and terminate in 
military despotism. 

Men are qualified for civil liberty, in exact proportion to 
their disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetites; 
in proportion as their love of justice is above rapacity; in pro- 
portion as their soundness and sobriety of understanding is 
above their vanity and presumption ; in proportion as they are 
more disposed to listen to the counsels of the wise and good in 
preference to the flattery of knaves. Society cannob-exist un- 
less a controlling power upon will and appetites be placed 
somewhere, and the less of it there is within, the more there 
must be without. It is ordered in the eternal constitution of 
things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their 
passions forge their fetters. 

"Alas! what differs more than man from man? 

And whence this difference? Whence but from himself? 

For, see the universal race, endowed 

With the same upright form ! The sun is fixed, 

And the infinite magnificence of heaven, 

Within the reach of every human eye: 

The sleepless ocean murmurs in all ears ; 

The vernal field infuses fresh delight 

Into all hearts. Throughout the world of sense, 

Even as an objeet is sublime or fair, 

That object is laid open to the view 

Without reserve or veil; and as a power 



HISTORICAL READER. 225 

Is salutary, or its influence sweet, 

Are each and all enabled to perceive 

That power, that influence, by impartial law. 

Gifts nobler are alike vouchsafed to all ; — 

Reason, — and, with that reason, smiles and tears ; 

Imagination, freedom of the will, 

Conscience to guide and check ; and death 

To be foretasted, — immortality presumed. 

Strange, then, nor less than monstrous might be deemed 

The failure, if the Almighty, to this point 

Liberal and undistinguishing, should hide 

The excellence of moral qualities, 

From common understanding leaving truth ; 

And virtue, difficult, abstruse, and dark ; 

Had to be won, and only by a few : — 

Strange, should he deal herein with nice respects, 

And frustrate all the rest ! Believe it not : 

The primal duties shine aloft, like stars ; 

The charities that soothe, and heal, and bless, 

Are scatter'd at the feet of man, like flowers. 

The generous inclination, the just rule, 

Kind wishes, and good actions, and pure thoughts — 

No mystery is here ; no special boon 

For high, and not for low — for proudly graced, 

And not for meek in heart. The smoke ascends 

To heaven as lightly from the cottage hearth 

As from the haughty palace. He whose soul 

Ponders its true equality, may walk 

The fields of earth with gratitude and hope; 

Yet, in that meditation, will he find 

Motive to sadder grief, when his thoughts turn 

From nature's justice to the social wrongs 

That make such difference betwixt man and man. 

Oh ! for the coming of that glorious time, 

When prizing knowledge as her noblest wealth, 

And best protection, this great Commonwealth, 

While she exacts allegiance, shall admit 

An obligation on her part, to teach 

Them who are born to serve her and obey; 

Binding herself by statute to secure 

For all the children whom her soil maintains, 

The rudiments of letters, and to inform 

The mind with moral and religious truth, 



226 HISTORICAL READER. 

Both understood and practised — so that none, 

However destitute, be left to droop, 

By timely culture unsustained, or run 

Into a wild disorder; or be forced 

To drudge through weary life, without the aid 

Of intellectual implements and tools ; 

A savage horde among the civilized, 

A servile band among the lordly free. 

This right — as sacred, almost, as the right 

To exist and be supplied with sustenance 

And means of life — the lisping babe proclaims 

To be inherent in him, by Heaven's will, 

For the protection of his innocence ; 

And the rude boy, who knits his angry brow, 

And lifts his wilful hand, on mischief bent, 

Or turns the sacred faculty of speech 

To impious use — by process indirect 

Declares his due, while he makes known his need. 

This sacred right is fruitlessly announced, 

This universal plea in vain addressed, 

To eyes and ears of parents, who themselves 

Did, in the time of their necessity, 

Urge it in vain ; and, therefore, like a prayer 

That from tbe humblest floor ascends to heaven, 

It mounts to reach the State's parental ear ; 

Who, if, indeed, she owns a mother's heart, 

And be not most unfeelingly devoid 

Of gratitude to Providence, will grant 

The unquestionable good.— • 

The discipline of tyranny is unknown 

Amongst us,— hence the more do we require 

The discipline of virtue ;— order else 

Cannot subsist, nor confidence, nor peace, 

Thus, duties rising out of good possessed, 

And prudent caution needful to avert 

Impending evil, do alike require 

That permanent provision should be made 

For the whole people to be taught and trained : — - 

So shall licentiousness and black resolve 

Be rooted out, and virtuous habits take 

Their place ; and genuine piety descend, 

Like an inheritance, from age to age." 



HISTORICAL READER. 227 

Sertorius, notwithstanding the extraordinary affection and 
respect which the Spaniards expressed for him, preserved to 
the Romans all the superiority to which they had been accus- 
tomed. Of the proscribed senators, who had taken refuge 
with him, and of the principal persons of the same party, he 
formed a senate, consisting of three hundred ; and he affnmed 
that this was the real Roman senate, and that the other at 
Rome, was only an assembly of Sylla's slaves. Out of this 
senate he chose quaestors, lieutenants, and other commanders, 
imitating, as much as possible, the government of the Common- 
wealth. 

He was a sincere patriot; and so earnestly desirous was he 
of returning to his country, that frequently, when his affairs 
were most prosperous, (never when in a declining state,) he 
offered to lay down his arms, on condition that he might be 
suffered to live as a private citizen at home: and, he declared, 
that he would rather be the most obscure citizen in Rome, than 
an exile, even though he could have under his dominion the 
whole universe. 

The Spaniards, on one occasion, flushed with success, were 
impatient of the caution which Sertorius deemed necessary. 
Deaf to his remonstrances, and eagerly bent on attacking the 
enemy, he at last yielded to their impetuosity, hoping that they 
might receive an important lesson from their rashness. The 
event corresponded with his anticipations. The Spaniards 
would have sustained an entire defeat, had he not, with extra- 
ordinary skill, covered their retreat. Despondency succeeding 
presumption, he revived their drooping spirits, and impressed 
a useful lesson by the following singularly ridiculous expedient. 
Having assembled his forces, he ordered two horses to be 
brought in the midst of them, one lean and old ; the other 
large and strong, with a fine flowing tail. By the former w 7 as 
stationed a man of diminutive size and contemptible appearance;, 
and by the latter a man of majestic stature and robust frame. 
Each being ordered to pull off the hairs from the tails of these 
horses, the strong man immediately grasped the whole tail of 
his horse, and pulled with all his athletic strength, hoping to 
strip it off at once ; but all his efforts were in vain, and he at 
last desisted ; the little puny fellow set deliberately and cooly 
to work ; plucking out with great application hair after hair, 
until there was not one left. This scene took place amidst , 
shouts of laughter. The Spanish soldiers forgot their late 
discomfiture; and whilst they were wondering at the meaning 
of this comical performance, their affable and kind-hearted 



228 HISTORICAL READER. 

general, impressed upon their minds an important practical 
lesson. " You see, my friends and fellow citizens," he said, 
" how much greater are the effects of perseverance, than those 
of force; and that there are many things invincible in their 
collective capacity, and in a state of union, which may gradu- 
ally be overcome, when they are once separated. In short, 
perseverance is irresistible. By this means, time attacks and 
destroys the strongest things upon earth. Time is the best 
friend and ally of those who have the discernment to use it 
properly, and watch the opportunities it presents ; and the 
worst enemy to those who will rush into action when it does 
not call them." 

When Sertorius carried on the war against Metellus, his 
success was, by many, imputed to the old age and inactivity 
of his opponent. But when Pompey had passed the Pyrenees, 
and Sertorius drove him, who was never before beaten, with 
dishonor from the field, he was considered the greatest general 
of the age. Pompey wrote to Rome, and said, "I have not 
only exhausted my estate, but my credit ; I have no resource 
but in you : if you fail me, I give you notice, that my army 
and the war itself will soon be in Italy." 

Metellus affected to speak of the great Sertorius with con- 
tempt, and styled him Sylla's fugitive, and his followers the 
fragments of Carbo's shipwreck; but his real feelings were 
expressed by the unbounded joy which he manifested after 
obtaining a small and temporary advantage over this distin- 
guished general. By his command, he was saluted imperator 
by his soldiers, altars were erected and sacrifices offered to 
him in the cities through which he passed ; choirs of men and 
maidens sang hymns to his praise, little figures of victory were 
made to descend, and, in the midst of artificial thunder and 
lightning, crowns were put on his head. Magnificent enter- 
tainments followed, and his person was clothed with the robe 
of triumph. 

Four armies were found insufficient to crush, or even to 
weaken, the power of Sertorius. His authority was deeply 
fixed irt the affections of the people, who had the happiness to 
live under his government. But the friend and favorite of the 
Lusitanians was exposed to the dangers which attend great- 
ness. Envy does merit as its shade pursue. Perpenna, one 
of his officers, who was jealous of his fame, and uneasy under 
the authority of a superior, formed a conspiracy to deprive 
the world of its most distinguished ornament and benefactor. 
Sertorius, highly gratified with the false* tidings which he had 



i 



HISTORICAL READER. 229 

received of an important victory, (a deception practised by the 
conspirators to enable them to accomplish their foul and un- 
grateful plot,) performed a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the 
gods, at the conclusion of which he was urgently invited by 
Perpenna to an entertainment. At all suppers and entertain- 
ments at which Sertorius was present, he insisted on the strict 
observance of sobriety and modest deportment. But at this 
entertainment, the conspirators, by their riotous and dissolute 
demeanor, excited the indignation of the general, and he turned 
upon his couch to avoid being a witness of their gross miscon- 
duct. Perpenna, at this moment, took a cup full of wine, and 
let it fall. This was the signal concerted for the execution of 
their fell purpose. The conspirators rushed upon Sertorius, 
and with many stabs put him to death. 

The account which Plutarch gives of the cruel conduct of 
Sertorius towards the parents of the children whom he had 
educated with so much care, appears not to rest on any good 
authority. It is probably, as Hooke suggests, the fabrication 
of some aristocratic party writer. 

The conduct of Pcmpey, after the defeat of Perpenna, is 
deserving of high commendation. The traitor, hoping to con- 
ciliate the favor of his conqueror, put into his hands the papers 
of Sertorius, containing many letters from men of consular 
dignity in Rome, who had invited Sertorius into Italy. Having 
collected all these letters, and other papers of the late governor 
of Spain, he burnt them without reading them himself, or allow- 
ing any other person to become acquainted with their contents. 
The traitor and his accomplices met the fate which they so well 
deserved, lest they should mention the names of those who wrote 
Ihese letters, and thence new seditions and troubles should arise. 

20 



CHAPTER XXIL 



SPARTACUS — » CATILINE. 



The dictatorship of Sylla extinguished the expiring liberty 
of Rome. From this period, the Commonwealth was perpetu- 
ally distracted by the ambitious projects of eminent individuals, 
some of whom, indeed, professed a zealous regard for the prin- 
ciples of civil liberty, but few, if any, were actuated with a 
sincere desire to restore to the people the rights and privileges, 
of which they had been defrauded and despoiled. The history 
of Rome, from this period to the establishment of the imperial 
government under Augustus, presents us with a confused and 
perplexed series of conspiracies, wars, massacre, and devasta- 
tion; notwithstanding which, the dominion of Rome was rapidly 
extended by conquests in the north, west, east, and south. 
Britain, Gaul, part of Germany, Syria, Judsea, and Egypt, 
and all the isles of the Mediterranean were added to the provin- 
ces of Rome; which was, during all the civil commotions, the 
centre and the source of power, — the heart of the enormous 
Briareus, whose fifty heads watched over, and whose hundred 
arms seized, the treasures, and grasped the strength, of all the 
kingdoms of the civilized world. Volumes might be filled with 
the history of the transactions of this period ; and those who 
derive any satisfaction from dwelling upon scenes of carnage, 
may have their unnatural propensity gratified in tracing the 
steps of Pompey, Lepidus, Crassus, Csesar, Antony, 'Cassius, 
Brutus, and Octavius. In this abstract of the history of Rome, 
the military transactions of this troubled period will be very 
slightly sketched. 

B. C. 72. Whilst Rome was rejoicing at the termination 
of the Spanish war, an unexpected danger suddenly assailed 
her from the alarming insurrection of a wretched class of men, 
who were devoted to furnish her cruel and depraved taste for 
bloody entertainments with the highest enjoyment she experi- 
enced. Spartacus, the gladiator, with eighty of his associates, 
who were kept at Capua, and trained to shed their blood for the 



HISTORICAL READER. 231 

amusement of the Roman people, contrived to effect their 
escape ; and such was the unsettled State of Italy, that, in 
a short time, he was surrounded with an army of 10,000 
men; and, after several advantages gained over their enemies, 
the number of his followers amounted to 70,000. Spartacus 
successively defeated the two Roman consuls; and at the 
funeral pile, which he raised after the battle, (it was a com- 
mon practice to honor the manes of the dead with combats 
of gladiators,) he retaliated the cruel injuries which his class 
sustained, by compelling more than 300 of his prisoners, 
probably of the first rank, to fight round this pile, for the 
amusement of himself and fellow gladiators. The feelings of 
savage triumph, which they experienced in the gratification 
of their revenge, may be easily imagined ; and certainly, this 
act of fit retributive justice could not, with propriety, be con- 
demned by the moralists of those days. 

At length, Crassus was sent against this formidable enemy, 
distinguished for his talents, as well as his courage. Had the 
army of Spartacus duly supported their general, and been willing 
to submit to strict military discipline, it is probable, that, under 
his able and vigorous conduct, they might have taken possession 
of the capital of the civilized world, have placed a gladiator in 
the consular chair, and emancipated the many thousand wretch- 
ed beings, who were sadly trained, in every part of the Roman 
commonwealth, to afford sport to the citizens of Rome. But, at 
last, after a desperate and bloody engagement, the gladiators 
were completely defeated. Spartacus behaved with great valor. 
When wounded in the leg, he fought on his knees, covering him- 
self with his buckler in one hand, and using the sword with the 
other; and when at last he fell, he fell upon a heap of Romans, 
whom he had sacrificed to his vengeance. In this battle no less 
than 40,000 of the rebels were slain, and the war was finished. 

There is still preserved a most valuable monument of ancient 
sculpture, which is reckoned one of the choicest relics of anti- 
quity — the dying gladiator ; remarkable for the representation 
of beauty, expression, and attitude; and which shows the in- 
imitable art, that the ancient sculptors possessed, of animating 
marble, and giving it almost every expression of life. 

" I see before me the Gladiator lie : 
He leans upon his hand — his manly brow 
Consents to death, but conquers agony, 
And his droop' d head sinks gradually low — 
And through his side the last drops, ebbing slow 
From the red gash, fall heavy, one by one, 



232 HISTORICAL READER. 

Like the first of a thunder-shower: and now 
The arena swims around him — he is gone, 
Ere ceased the inhuman shout which hail'd the wretch who won. 

" He heard it, but he heeded not — his eyes 

Were with his heart, and that was far away. 

He reck'd not of the life he lost, nor prize, 

But where his rude hut by the Danube lay, 

There were his young barbarians all at play, 
s ESMkg . -« There was their Dacian mother — he, their sire 
ti Jfc&Q £~ ilutchered to make a H oman holiday — j 

All this rush'd with his blood. Shall he expire, 
And unavenged? Arise! ye Goths, and glut your ire." 

Catiline was of an illustrious family : he was not only 
a man of great vigor of body and mind, but also of a 
disposition extremely profligate and depraved. From his 
youth he took pleasure in civil wars, massacres, depreda- 
tions, and intestine broils. His body was formed for enduring 
cold, hunger, and sleeplessness to a degree almost incredible; 
his spirit was daring, subtle, inconstant, capable of the most 
profound dissimulation, covetous of other persons' property, 
lavish of his own, and eager in the indulgence of his passions: 
he had a considerable share of eloquence, but little real wisdom. 
His insatiable mind was always bent on projects that were 
unreasonable, incredible, and far beyond his reach. 

After the tyranny of Sylla, he was possessed with an incon- 
trollable desire of seizing the rein's of government; nor, had he 
the least scruple with respect to the means of accomplishing 
his ambitious purpose. The consciousness of his crimes and 
his poverty, which he had rendered more desperate by the 
vicious practices I have mentioned, gave him no rest by day 
or by night. And the very corrupt mortals of the city, debased 
by luxury and avarice, vices of the worst description, though 
opposite to each other, encouraged him to prosecute his 
design. 

Rome now presented a remarkable contrast to Rome in the 
vigor of youth, and under the guidance of the spirit of liberty. 
How great was then the ardor of its citizens in the pursuit of 
true glory. Valor was esteemed wealth, true honor, and no- 
bility. Good morals were cultivated at home and abroad. 
A spirit of perfect harmony and disinterestedness prevailed. 
Justice and equity were not then the forced production of the 
laws, but the natural fruits of a free and uncontaminated mind. 
Quarrels, dissensions 3 and disputes were reserved for the public 



HISTORICAL READER. 233 

enemy: their only contests amongst each other were a generous 
emulation to excel in virtuous actions. Magnificent in their 
offerings to the gods, they were frugal in their domestic expen- 
ses, and faithfully observant of the duties of friendship. Brave 
in vvar, equitable in peace, they advanced the interests of the 
Republic, and promoted their own welfare, fn those days of 
genuine patriotism, few were the instances in which men ren- 
dered themselves subject to punishment by abandoning their 
standards, or deserting their posts; but, almost the only instan- 
ces of military correction were examples of impetuous bravery, 
too eager to encounter the enemy, or of undaunted and invin- 
cible fortitude, which remained in the field of battle after a 
retreat was sounded. Then the administration of public affairs, 
during peace, was regulated rather by an appeal to the principle 
of gratitude and affection than of fear ; and injuries were rather 
forgiven than punished. 

Such is the representation given by Sallust. The picture 
is perhaps a little too highly colored, but the following account 
is confirmed by facts, and the testimony of contemporary wri- 
ters. Fortune, at length, began to exert her malice, and threw 
every thing into confusion. When sea and land lay every 
where open to her power, ease and riches, the great objects of 
pursuit, depressed and ruined those, who had, without right, 
undergone toils and hardships, and every vicissitude of affairs. 
First, a love of money, then, an eager desire of power took 
possession of their minds ; and these passions were the source 
of all the evils that followed. Avarice subverted fidelity, 
honesty, and every virtuous principle; and substituted pride, 
cruelty, irreligion, and venality. Ambition introduced insin- 
cerity; and the tongue ceased to be the interpreter of the mind. 
Friendship and enmity were regarded not according to their 
real nature, but merely as they tended to promote self-interest; 
and men were more anxious to regulate the expression of the 
countenance, than to mould the heart after the true image of 
virtue. The corruption of the moral principle took place by 
degrees, and was occasionally restrained by salutary discipline. 
But, at length, the infection spread like a plague ; the State 
was entirely changed, and the government, that had been 
administered with justice and equity, became cruel and in- 
tolerable. 

At first, the mind of the community was tainted more by 
ambition than avarice, which is a vice that has nothing akin 
to virtue: but ambition — the desire of glory, power, and pre- 
ferment, may actuate the mind of the good as well as the 

20* 



234 HISTORICAL READER. 

wicked. The virtuous man, however, advances his aspirations 
after honor and dignities in the path of rectitude ; but, the man 
destitute of principle, uses all the artifices of treachery and 
deceit. Avarice is engrossed in the pursuit of riches, which 
no truly wise man ever eagerly desires to acquire. This vice, 
as if imbued with deadly poison, enervates both soul and body; 
it is not restrained by any limits ; it is always insatiable, and in 
the midst of affluence, as well as in a state of poverty, its 
restless desires are unbounded. 

When riches, at length, began to be highly prized, and 
glory, dignities, and authority followed in their train; virtue 
languished, poverty was deemed a disgrace, and a spirit of 
uncompromising integrity was denounced as the character- 
istic of an unsocial, envious, and malignant disposition. 
Thus luxury, avarice, and pride, the natural effects of riches, 
took entire possession of the minds of the Roman youths ; 
they indulged in rapine and prodigality: they slighted their 
own possessions, and coveted the property of others; they 
held in contempt modesty and chastity; they made no dis- 
tinction between things human and divine; and utterly 
disregarded all the dictates of prudence and moderation. 

Our ancestors graced the temples of their gods with the 
sincere offerings of devotion, and their houses with personal 
glory. But, now, the houses of the Romans resembled the 
magnificence of cities ; now mountains were levelled by private 
citizens, and the sea itself was encroached upon, and made the 
site of splendid structures. Riches were squandered for mere 
amusement, in the most wanton manner, instead of being used 
as the means of rational gratifications. Men and women were 
immersed in the sink of the grossest licentiousness. The sea 
and land were ransacked to afford dainties for their tables. 
They indulged in sleep before they were weary; they eat 
before they were hungry; drank before they were thirsty; and 
carefully avoiding exposure to cold, and guarding against all 
fatigue, they anticipated, by luxurious indulgence, all the wants 
of nature. This boundless licentiousness prepared the minds 
of young men, who had wasted their fortunes, to commit the 
most heinous crimes. 

In a city so corrupt, men of the most profligate and seditious 
character would easily meet with many abettors of the most 
criminal enterprizes ; and Catiline soon numbered in the list 
of his partizans many men of rank, and a great number of 
persons of all classes and ages. Sallust says, "There were 
several noblemen engaged in this conspiracy, and almost all 



HISTORICAL READER. 235 

the youth of quality, favored his undertaking. His object was 
to murder the consuls, to set fire to the city, and, amidst the 
general consternation, to seize the reins of government." His 
project appears to have been very ill digested: his passionate 
enmity to Cicero, in particular, seems to have hurried him on 
to disregard all the dictates of caution. 

In one of his addresses to the conspirators, he said, "Is it 
not better to die in a brave attempt, than to drag a wretched 
and infamous life; and to lose it at last shamefully, after having 
been the sport of other men's insolence. But 1 take the gods 
and men to witness, that success is in our hands ; our bodies 
and minds are in full vigor: but, they are on the decline ill 
every respect, oppressed with years, and enervated by luxury. 
We have only to make the attempt ; every thing conspires to 
favor our effort. Who, that has the spirit of a man, can en- 
dure with patience that they should have a superfluity of 
riches, which they sink in the deep, to lay the foundations of 
their splendid edifices ; which they squander in levelling moun- 
tains, while we are destitute of the common necessaries of life ; 
that they should be continually extending their sumptuous 
palaces, while we have not a home for a comfortable refuge ; 
that although they are constantly purchasing pictures, statues, 
curiously chased vessels, pulling down new houses, and build- 
ing others ; that while they are dissipating wealth by every 
means, which boundless extravagance can suggest, yet, they 
are unable, by all the arts of profusion, to exhaust their vast 
accumulations. As for us, we have debts abroad, and poverty 
at home: our condition is bad, our expectations much worse. 
What then remains to us but a life of wretchednesss? Awake, 
arise, or be forever fallen. Behold, at last, before your eyes, 
liberty, glorious liberty, which you have so often earnestly 
panted for! Behold in her train, riches, honor, glory, all 
spread before your eyes ! Fortune has now placed all these 
blessings before the victors. But what need of words; the 
present conjuncture and opportunity, the dangers to which 
you are exposed, the poverty you suffer, the glorious spoils of 
war, all urge you on to this noble enterprise. As for myself, 
employ me either as your general, or a common soldier; my 
whole soul and body are at your service. I trust, that in the 
high capacity of consul, I shall co-operate with you in this 
glorious undertaking; unless, forsooth, my mind deceives me; 
and you are disposed to prefer subjection to command." 

To satisfy the anxious inquiries of the conspirators, Catiline 
promised an abolition of their debts, the proscription of the 



236 HISTORICAL READER. 

rich, places of honor and emolument, plunder, and all the 
spoils and gratifications, which successful war lays open to the 
rapacity of the victors. 

It is asserted, though Sallust says without sufficient evidence, 
that, after his speech, he administered an oath to his associates, 
that he offered them a bowl of human blood mixed with water, 
which they all tasted, as a solemn pledge of fidelity. 

The plot was divulged by an abandoned woman, the com- 
panion of one of the conspirators; but, as so many persons of 
rank were concerned in it, and its ramifications so widely 
spread, it was necessary to proceed with great caution in coun- 
teracting the insidious designs of the party, and bringing the 
criminals to justice. The peculiar danger in which the State 
was placed, required the direction of a man of consummate 
ability, of great experience, of untiring. vigilance and circum- 
spection ; and also one practised in all the arts of oratory. 
And, happily for Rome, that man was found in Cicero ; who, 
at this critical period, offered himself a candidate for the con- 
sulship. The discovery of the alarming conspiracy made the 
people anxious to elect this most illustrious orator, who had 
already passed through the offices of edile and praetor, and 
gained golden opinions from the justice and moderation which 
he had exercised in Sicily, as quaestor. Being what was 
called a " novus homo," (a new man, the first of his family 
who had attained to the honors of the State, though the son of 
a Roman knight.) the nobility regarded his pretensions with 
envy and indignation ; and thought that the consulship would 
be sullied, if he should obtain it. But when danger impended, 
their envy and pride were silenced. 

The election of Cicero was a serious blow to the conspirators. 
"All hope excluded thus," Catiline was roused to the utmost 
activity. He provided magazines of arms in all the most 
convenient places of Italy. Great numbers of all ranks joined 
his party; many women also entered zealously into his plans. 
By their means he hoped to gain their husbands, and to induce 
the slaves of Rome to set fire to the city. In the number of 
these women was one of the name of Sempronia, of a mascu- 
line spirit, who had often been engaged in many daring and 
hardy enterprises. She was of a good family, of great personal 
attractions, and was highly favored by fortune in her husband 
and children. She was well instructed in Greek and Roman 
literature, had much wit, was a poetess, could accommodate her 
conversation to any subject, and had attained all the accom- 
plishments of that refined age. Yet, with all her intellectual 



HISTORICAL READER. 237 

qualities, she was utterly devoid of the graces of moral beauty: 
modesty and virtue were completely despised. Of her repu- 
tation, she was as careless as of her wealth. She had often 
violated her faith, perjured herself to avoid paying her debts, 
and she had been concerned in murders. Such is the cha- 
racter, given by Sallust, of one of the distinguished women 
of the age. 

Catiline was equally active in adopting measurers' to secure 
the city in his interests; but, the object' at which v he particu- 
larly aimed, was the life of Cicero. The other consul^Octavius, 
was norifn favorably disposed to the conspirators, although his 
colleague had quieted his restless spirit, by giving him the 
choice of the two provinces, which were allotted by the Senate 
to the new consuls. Catiline and his followers, contrary to 
law, went about armed. Impatient of delay, thirsting for 
vengeance, he was busily occupied day and night ; he was 
always on the watch, he was constantly intent on prosecuting 
his design, he lived almost without sleep; and yet, he was 
indefatigable under all his multifarious schemes and actions. 

Manliusjin the mean time, was actively engaged in Etruria, 
in exciting the people to take up arms; and there were numbers 
of banditti, and persons fired with resentment in consequence 
of the injuries which they had sustained from the tyranny of 
the various factions at Rome, who were disposed heartily to 
join in any insurrection. Being deprived of all their posses- 
sions, a revolution might benefit, but could not injure them. 

Cicero, seriously alarmed at the intelligence of the progress 
of the conspiracy, the particulars of which were communicated 
by Fulvia, laid the whole plot before the Senate, which (as 
was usual in cases of extreme danger) passed the decree, 
" That the consuls should take care, that the State suffered no 
detriment." Thus invested with sovereign authority, he raised 
forces to oppose Manlius in the field; and exerted all his arbi- 
trary power to collect positive and undeniable evidence of the 
guilt of the conspirators. The whole city was now in a state 
of alarm; no place was thought secure; no person fit to be 
trusted ; every one measured the public danger by his private 
fears. The women raised their suppliant hands to heaven; 
" every feeble rumor shook their hearts ; " and laying aside 
their pride and their pleasures, became anxious for themselves 
and their country. Yet, Catiline, with astonishing audacity, 
came into the Senate-house, and took his seat, as one unjustly 
suspected, and anxious only to clear his character from calumni- 
ous aspersions. On this occasion. Cicero, unable to contain 



238 HISTORICAL HEADER. 

his indignation, burst forth into a torrent of eloquent invective, 
which electrified the Senate, and almost overwhelmed the 
traitor. " Catiline, how long do you purpose to abuse our 
patience? How long will your madness outbrave our justice? 
To what length will your unbridled audacity hurry you on? 
The nightly guard on the Palatine hill, the strict watch of the 
city, the consternation of the citizens, the firm bond of union 
among all good men, the Senate assembled in the impregnable 
Capitol, the indignant looks of the Senators — these, — have 
not these, the power to change your traitorous designs? Do 
you not perceive that your plans are detected ? that a deep 
conviction of your conspiracy is fixed in the minds of all here 
assembled ? Can you now imagine that any one of us is 
unacquainted with your proceedings last night, and the night 
before? that he does not know where you met, and what 
party you convoked? Oh! the degeneracy of the age! and 
the corruption of our manners ! The Senate knows his evil 
practices ; the consul sees them : and yet, he lives ! Lives ! 
did I say ? Nay, more ! he comes into this august assembly ; 
he participates in our councils, and deliberately selects with 
his cruel eye the victims of his murderous malice. Yet, we, 
forsooth, magnanimous counsellors of the State, congratulate 
ourselves as discharging our duty, if we escape the violence of 
this, wretch! 

"Catiline, the consul should long ago have ordered you 
to be led to execution, and to receive those torments which 
you have, for some time past, been contriving for us. # # 
Yet, this act of just retribution, circumstances induce me to 
defer. You shall be put to death, but not until there will not 
remain a single person, so much a traitor, so much a villain, 
so much a Catiline, who will not acknowledge the justice of 
the punishment. So long as there exists one, who dares to de- 
fend you, you shall live ; but live as you now do, surrounded by 
my numerous and faithful guards, who will deprive you of all 
power to disturb the peace of the State. Many shall be the 
eyes, and many the ears, which, unperceived by you, as they 
have hitherto been, shall observe all your actions, and prevent 
your evil designs. " # # 

No translation can convey, to one unacquainted with the 
original, any adequate idea of the spirit and the eloquence of 
this oration. The principal object of this orator was to eon- 
vince Catiline that all his steps were tracked, and all his coun- 
sels reported ; and thus to urge him to leave the city, and appeajr 
openly in arms. There were many who affected to believ© 



HISTORICAL READER. 239 

that Catiline was innocent, and that Cicero was actuated by 
mere personal feelings. 

As soon as Cicero had finished his invective, which concludes 
with an urgent appeal to the traitor to leave the city, (Cicero 
was afraid at present to banish him,) Catiline rose with down- 
cast looks and a suppliant voice, and begged the Senators not 
to believe the charges which the consul had made against him; 
and stated, that his former conduct was a guarantee for his 
innocence ; and that it was not credible, that he, one of the 
Patrician order, should desire to overthrow the constitution, 
while a new man was zealous to support it. Proceeding to 
indulge in invectives against Cicero, the Senate suddenly inter- 
rupted him with cries of " traitor, parricide." Catiline, in 
a violent passion, cried out, " Since I am thus assailed, and 
driven on headlong by my enemies, I will quench the flame 
kindled around me, by the destruction of my adversaries." 

Having in the heat of the moment betrayed himself, he could 
no longer remain in the city ; and thus his fury accomplished 
what the eloquence of Cicero tried in vain to effect. He left 
Rome at midnight, after having urged his associates to assassi- 
nate the consul, to set fire to the city, and to make preparations 
for a general massacre. He promised, that he would soon 
return from the camp of Manlius at the head of an irresistible 
army. 

Catiline's expectations of success were not without foundation; 
for Sallust says, that the conspirators and their accomplices 
were not the only disaffected persons ; the whole body of the 
populace, desirous of a revolution, approved of Catiline's de- 
sign. The Roman people were become extremely degenerate 
from several causes: all those who were noted for wickedness 
and violence, such as had squandered their fortunes in riot and 
extravagance, and all that were driven from their native coun- 
try on account of their crimes, flocked to Rome from all quar- 
ters as to a common sewer. Moreover, all who were of any 
party different from the Senate, would rather that the common- 
wealth should be thrown into confusion, than that they should 
remain without power. 

After the tribunitial authority was restored, under the con- 
sulship of Pompey and Crassus, certain young men of vigorous 
age and active spirits, having acquired that high dignity, began 
to inflame the populace by inveighing against the Senate,, and 
by largesses and flattering promises obtained great reputation 
and power. All the nobility exerted their utmost efforts against 
them, apparently with a view of supporting the grandeur of 



240 HISTORICAL READER. 

the Senate, but, in reality, of advancing their own private 
interests. In short, all who raised commotions in the State 
in those days under the plausible pretext of asserting the rights 
of the people, or increasing the authority of the Senate, in every 
instance affecting to be animated by a sincere desire to pro- 
mote the good of the public, were, with scarcely an exception, 
contending for their own advancement. These disputes were 
carried on without any bounds of moderation, and each party, 
as it prevailed, made a cruel use of victory. 

Having, at length, obtained indisputable evidence by means 
of the Allobroges, who were solicited by the conspirators to 
unite with them, of the guilt of several of the leaders of the 
plot in the city, Cicero assembled the Senate to obtain their 
advice respecting the kind of punishment which should be in- 
flicted on these citizens of the first rank, clearly convicted of 
treason. 

The speeches of Csesar and Cato on this occasion are given 
by Sallust ; the former, who was by many suspected of being 
concerned in this conspiracy, pleaded for the lives of the 
traitors; but Cato said, " My opinion is, that since by a de- 
testable combination of profligate citizens the State is brought 
into the greatest danger ; since they are clearly convicted of 
having entered into a conspiracy for destroying their fellow- 
citizens and native country by slaughter and conflagration — 
they be put to death." 

A decree was passed conformable to his proposal ; and the 
consul, fearing that an attempt might be made during the night 
to rescue them, put the sentence in execution immediately. 
Lentulus, a Patrician, descended from the illustrious family of 
the Cornelii, and who had borne the office of consul, was 
thrust down into a dungeon and strangled ; and others shared 
the same fate. 

Catiline, in the mean time, was making vigorous preparations 
for battle ; and Sallust ascribes to him a noble speech, worthy 
of a better cause. 

# # * u Two armies," he said, "one from Rome, another 
from Gaul, obstruct our motions. Want of provisions and other 
necessaries will not allow us to make any longer stay here, 
were we ever so desirous of doing it. To whatever place you 
think of marching, you must open yourselves a passage with 
your swords. I conjure you then to summon up alfyour cour- 
age; to act like men resolute and undaunted; to remember when 
you engage, that you carry in your hands riches, honor, and 
glory ; nay, even your liberty and your country. If we 



HISTORICAL READER. 241 

overcome, all will be safe; we shall have plenty of provisions; 
the corporate towns and colonies will be all ready to receive us. 
But if we fail through fear, the very reverse will be our fate; 
nor will any place or friend protect those whom arms could not. 
Let me add to this, my fellow soldiers, that we have different 
motives to animate us from what the opposite army has. We 
fight for our country, for our liberty, for our lives; they, for 
no interest of their own, but only to support the power of a 
few. Let this consideration, then, engage you to fall on them 
more courageously, remembering your former bravery. 

" We might, indeed, have passed our days, with the utmost 
infamy in banishment: some of you too might have lived at 
Rome, depending for your subsistence on others, after having 
lost your own estates. But such a condition appearing infa- 
mous and intolerable to men of spirit, you resolved on the 
present course. If you repent of the step, it is unnecessary to 
remind you, that even to secure a retreat, the firmest valor is 
still indispensable. Peace must be procured by victory alone, 
not by a grovelling cowardice. To hope for security from 
flight, when you have turned from the enemy the arms which 
serve to defend you, is the- height of madness. In battle, the 
most cowardly are always in most danger: courage is a wall 
of defence. When I consider your characters, fellow soldiers, 
and reflect on your past achievements, I have great hopes of 
victory: your spirit, your age, your virtue, encourage me; and 
our necessity too, which even inspires cowards with bravery: 
for the straitness of our situation will prevent the enemy's 
numbers from surrounding us. But should fortune envy your 
bravery, be sure you fall not without taking due vengeance on 
the enemy; suffer not yourselves to be taken and slaughtered 
like cattie; but fight like men, and leave the enemy a bloody 
and mournful victory." 

When, at length, the army of the rebels encountered the 
army of the State, the soldiers of Catiline fought with the most 
heroic bravery. Petreius sounded to battle, and ordered his 
cohorts to advance slowly: the enemy did the same. But 
when they were come near enough for the light armed soldiers 
to begin the fight, they set up a loud shout, rushed with great 
fury into a close engagement, and laying aside their darts, 
made use of their swords only. The veterans, mindful of 
their former bravery, pressed vigorously on the rebels, who 
made a bold resistance ; so that the engagement was maintain- 
ed with great obstinacy. Catiline was all the while in the first 
line, at the head of a light armed body; sustaining such as were 

21 



242 HISTORICAL REABEH, 

severely pressed ; putting fresh men in the room of those who 
were wounded ; providing for every exigence ; often charging 
the enemy in person ; and performing at once the duty of a 
brave soldier and a great commander. 

At last the ranks of the rebels were broken, and great 
slaughter ensued. Manlius was killed, fighting in the fore- 
most rank. Catiline, when he saw his forces routed, and 
himself left with only a few, mindful of his birth and former 
dignity, rushed headlong into the thickest of the enemy, where 
he fell covered with wounds, and fighting to the last. 

When the engagement was ended, it evidently appeared with 
what undaunted spirit and resolution Catiline's army was fired ; 
for the body of every one was found on that very spot which, 
during the battle, he had occupied : those only excepted who 
were forced from their posts by the praetorian cohort ; and 
even they, though they fell a little out of their ranks, were all 
wounded before. Catiline himself was found far from his own 
men, amid the dead bodies of the enemy, breathing a little, with 
an air of that fierceness still in his face, which he had when 
alive. There was not in all his army one free citizen taken 
prisoner. The army of the Republic, indeed, obtained the 
victory; but it was neither a cheap, nor a joyful one, for the 
bravest men were either slain in the battle or dangerously 
wounded. 



CHAPTER XXIIL 



POMPEY — • CRASSUS. 



Cneus Pompey, surnamed the Great, was the son of 
Pompeius Strabo and Lucilia. He early distinguished 
himself in the field of battle, and fought with success and 
bravery under his father, whose courage and military 
prudence he imitated. He began his career with great 
popularity ; the beauty and elegance of his person gained 
him admirers; and by pleading at the bar, he displayed 
his eloquence, and received great applause. In the disturb- 
ances which agitated Rome, by the ambition and avarice 
of Marius and Sylla, Pompey followed the interest of the 
latter, and by levying three legions for his service, he 
gained his friendship and his protection. In the 26th year 
of his age, he conquered Sicily, which was in the power 
of Marius and his adherents; and in forty days he regained 
all the territories of Africa, which bad forsaken the interest * 
of Sylla. This rapid success astonished the Romans ; and 
Sylla, who admired and dreaded the rising power of Pompey, 
recalled him to Rome. Pompey immediately obeyed ; and 
the dictator, by saluting him with the appellation of the 
Great, showed to the world what expectations he formed of 
the future eminence of his victorious lieutenant. 

After the assassination of the truly great Sertorius, Pompey 
easily reduced to subjection the rebellious province of Spain, 
and he erected in the Pyrenees many monuments to perpetuate 
his exploits, on which were inscriptions importing that, between 
the Alps and the Farther Spain, he had subjected 876 cities. 
On his return home, he put to the sword a numerous band of 
fugitive slaves, a remnant of the army of Spartacus ; and six 
thousand of these wretched beings were crucified along the 
road from Capua to Rome. 

Crassus had greatly distinguished himself in the war with 
Spartacus, and he and Pompey, the two victorious generals, 
aspired to the consulship. Crassus, surnamed the Rich, is 



244 HISTORICAL READER. 

chiefly distinguished for his enormous wealth. He was 
attached to Sylla's cause, and being extremely rapacious, he 
made use of all his credit to enrich himself by the plunder 
of the enemy, and the purchase of confiscated estates, which 
Cicero calls his harvest. By these means he raised immense 
wealth, computed at many millions, gathered from the spoils 
and calamities of his country. He used to say, that no man 
could be reckoned rich, who was not able to maintain an army 
out of his own rents: and, if the accounts of antiquity are true, 
the number of his slaves was scarcely inferior to a full army. 
These made a part of his revenue, being trained to some useful 
art or profession, in which they were employed to enrich their 
master. He is said to have had above 500 masons and archi- 
tects, who were constantly occupied in building or repairing 
the houses of the city. He envied Pompey's superior abilities 
and reputation ; and the feeling of aversion was much increased 
by Pompey's ungenerous attempt to rob him of the honor of 
ending the Servile war. Finding himself unequal to his rival 
in military fame, he applied to the arts of peace and eloquence, 
in which he obtained the character of a good speaker ; and by 
his easy and familiar address, and a readiness to assist all, 
who wanted either his protection or his money, he acquired 
great authority in public affairs. 

B. C. 70. The victorious generals, Pompey and Crassus, 
were elected consuls ; and both had a triumph for the victories 
which they had obtained. Crassus consecrated the tenth of 
his estate to Hercules, gave a feast to the whole city, and to 
each citizen corn for three months. Pompey was also assidu- 
ous to establish himself in the affections of the people. By 
ajicient institution, the Roman knights, when they hod com- 
pleted their time of service, which was ten years, presented 
themselves before the censors, to whom they gave an account 
of their campaigns, and under what generals they had served. 
When the censors were sitting in their curule chairs, at the 
gate of the temple of Castor and Pollux, making the review, 
Pompey appeared. He entered the forum in all the state be- 
longing to the consular dignity ; but he came along leading his 
horse by the bridle, and presented himself before the tribunal 
of those magistrates. The people, impressed with this artful 
exhibition of affected submission to the customs of the State, 
broke forth into the loudest expressions of their admiration at 
hiscondescension;and the censors, having asked him whether he 
had completed all the years of service which he owed to the 
Commonwealth, rose after they had received his answer, and 
conducted him in triumph to his house. 



HISTORICAL READER. 245 

He also gained great applause, by reversing the decree of 
Sylla, which transferred the judicature entirely to the Senators, 
who, as even Cicero admits, sold their votes, so that a wealthy 
man, however criminal, escaped with impunity. Cicero, in 
his oration against Verres, (who had greatly oppressed the 
province of Sicily,) says, "That the provinces were ruined 
by cruel exactions; that they had lost all hope of redress; 
that in consequence of the scandalous behavior of the judges, 
the authority of the censors, hated before as too rigid, was 
desired and became popular; that there was a daily complaint 
of the infamy of trials, and the disgrace of the whole Sena- 
torial order. 

The Roman provinces, at this period, seem to have been 
the scene of the most rapacious and cruel tyranny; and the gov- 
ernment of them was coveted, as store-houses are by robbers. 
Cicero informs us, that during the administration of Verres in 
Sicily, " When any vessel richly laden arrived in the ports, it 
was seized by spies and informers, on pretence that it came 
from Spain, and was filled with the soldiers of Sertorius. 
And when the commanders exhibited their bills of lading, with 
a sample of their goods, to prove that they were fair traders, 
who came from different quarters of the world, some producing 
Tyrian purple, others Arabian spices, some jewels and pre- 
cious stones, others Greek wines and Asiatic slaves, the very 
proof was their certain ruin. Verres declared that their goods 
had been acquired by piracy ; and seizing the ships with their 
cargoes, for his own use, he committed the whole crew to 
prison, though the greatest part of them might be Roman 
citizens." 

Verres was defended by the celebrated orator, Hortensius, 
who was the friend of Cicero, and was highly eulogized by 
him. He was considered the leader of the Roman bar, and had 
so much influence, that judgment was generally given in ac- 
cordance with his wishes. In defending his client, he did not 
trust merely to his wit, learning, and eloquence; but he em- 
ployed solicitations, caresses, menaces, threats, and money to 
gain his cause. The method of passing sentence was by bal- 
loting. To each of the judges were given three waxed tablets, 
(little pieces of wood,) on one of which was the letter A, for 
absolvo, (I acquit,) on another the letter C, for condemno, (I 
pronounce guilty,) and on the other N. L., for non liquet, (the 
thing is not clear — the cause must be reheard.) Each judge, 
after hearing the cause, put one of these tablets into a box, or 
urn. Hortensius, (the man so much admired by Cicero,) not 

21* 



246 HISTORICAL READER. 

only engaged some one among the judges to be a spy upon the 
rest, but, when he was particularly interested in a cause, he 
contrived to furnish the judges with tablets of different colors, 
so that when these were taken out of the box, he might know, 
whether the judges whom he had bribed, had earned the wages 
of iniquity. 

Of this celebrated orator, who was elected consul the follow- 
ing year, we are told, that he had 10,000 casks of wine in his 
cellar ; that he irrigated his plane trees with wine ; that, on one 
occasion, he begged Cicero to change the hour fixed for hearing 
a cause, in which they were both concerned, because he was 
under the necessity of going to his Tusculan villa to pour wine 
on some of his shrubs ; that he took so much care of his fish, 
that he occasinally warmed their water; and on one occasion, 
wept for the death of a lamprey. 

Pompey, before his election to the consulship, promised the 
people that he would endeavor to correct this scandalous cor- 
ruption of justice, by passing a law for electing the judges 
from the three orders of the Commonwealth. A law to this 
effect was established, and remained in force till the dictatorship 
of Ceesar. Pompey also still farther to ingratiate himself with 
the people, restored to the tribunes their ancient privileges. 
But the people were no longer worthy of the rights which this 
office conferred. It was constantly abused, during the short 
time that it continued in force after this period, by mercenary, 
seditious, or ambitious demagogues. 

The two consuls had disagreed during their whole adminis- 
tration. Pompey, contrary to his promise, had kept his troops 
in arms near the city, and Crassus had not disbanded his army. 
The people were, consequently, in constant apprehension of 
another civil war. But a few days before the termination of 
their consular power, an apparent reconciliation was effected 
by means of the declaration of a Roman knight, "That in a 
dream, Jupiter had appeared to him, and commanded him to 
declare to the people, in his name, that they should not suffer 
the consuls to quit their office, till they were reconciled." The 
consuls were also induced to issue edicts for disbanding their 
armies. And Pompey, apprehensive of incurring the jealousy 
of the people, took an oath, that he would not accept any gov- 
ernment, when the term of his office expired. 

At this time, all the shores of the Mediterranean were 
infested by numerous bands of pirates, who committed the 
most dreadful depredations. They formed a kind of common- 
wealth, of which Cilicia was the centre. They had magazines 



HISTORICAL READER. 247 

upon the coasts for depositing their booty, and had even naval 
arsenals well supplied with every thing necessary for building 
and equipping ships. They erected high towers, that they 
might descry the seas, and they engaged in their interest seve- 
ral cities. 

At this time the pirates had more than 1000 ships, furnished 
with skilful pilots. They affected magnificence, and their ships 
glittered with gold and silver ; their oars were silvered ; and the 
curtains of the cabins were of purple. When they went ashore 
they indulged in the most sumptuous entertainments. They 
had taken 400 cities ; and they often landed on the coasts of 
Sicily, infested the main roads, and rifled the houses, that were 
not far from the sea. To pillage and spread consternation 
amongst the Romans was their great delight. 

The successful depredations of these formidable pirates very 
much increased the price of provisions at Rome; and it was 
acknowledged by all, that very vigorous measures should be 
adopted to destroy the alarming and increasing evil. One of 
the tribunes, the friend of Pompey, proposed, with a particular 
view to this great general, that the people should choose one, 
to whom the absolute command over the whole Mediterranean, 
and all the coasts and the country inland for the distance of 
several miles, should be given for three years, with the power 
to take money at his discretion from the public treasury, and 
to raise any number of soldiers and sailors that he thought 
proper. The leading members of the Senate, with few excep- 
tions, and some of the people, opposed the proposition, justly 
thinking that the grant of a power so exorbitant was dangerous 
to public liberty; but the multitude, completely blind to their 
own interests, and deceived by the hypocritical zeal of Pompey 
and Ceesar, violently put down all opposition, and raised so 
loud a cry of indignation against two of the tribunes, who 
spoke against the measure, that a raven, says Plutarch, which 
was fl\ing over the multitude, was stunned with the noise, and 
fell in the midst of the Forum. 

Pompey, on this occasion, played his part to perfection. 
He was a man who could " frame his face to all occasions, 
play the orator as well as Nestor, and deceive more slily than 
Ulysses could." He ascended the rostra, and "begged the 
people to spare him ; he was quite spent with his past fatigues; 
and, indeed, he was afraid of envy ; he desired nothing so much 
as the tranquillity of a private life : besides, the Commonwealth 
had many other persons more capable of serving it." 



248 HISTORICAL READER. 

" O what authority and show of truth 
Can cunning man cover himself withal S " 

The cause of liberty is beset with perils and snares on every 
side. The blind admiration, the implicit confidence, and the 
credulous faith of a grateful people, hurry them on to invest 
with dangerous authority the distinguished heroes of their 
country, and thus they place in jeopardy all their rights and 
privileges. 

Ccesar, who was not inferior to Pompey in all the artifices 
of dissimulation, and who was secretly contriving, by means 
of flattering the people, to raise himself to supreme power, on 
this occasion, seconded, by his powerful interest, the proposi- 
tion of the traitor, Gabinius. Pompey was, accordingly, 
elected, and invested with little less than sovereign power. 
His success surpassed the expectations of his most zealous 
friends. The pirates, who had for many years spread over 
the whole Mediterranean, were completely subdued, and the 
navigation of the sea rendered perfectly safe. 

To Pompey was now committed the command of the 
Mithridatic war, and of all the Roman armies in the East. 
Astonishing success attended his military operations. He 
conquered Mithridates; he entered Armenia, and received the 
submission of Tigranes ; and, after he had conquered the 
Albanians and Iberians, he visited countries that were scarce- 
ly known to the Romans; and like a master of the world, 
disposed of kingdoms and provinces, and received homage 
from twelve crowned heads at once. He reduced the people 
of Colchis, and took their king prisoner; then marched back 
against the Albanians, who, whilst he was engaged with the 
Iberians and Colchians, had renewed the war. He overthrew 
them with great slaughter, and killed, with his own hand, their 
general, the brother of their king. He crossed the kingdom of 
Pontus in his way to Syria; subdued Darius, king of Media, 
and Antiochus, king of Commagene; and having reduced Cselo- 
Syria and Damascus, and the regions as far as the Tigris, 
he became master of all the Syrian empire, and reduced it to 
the form of a Roman province. Antiochus was deprived of 
his crown, which ended the empire of the Seleucidae in Asia, 
after it had lasted 258 years. (Seleucidae was a surname 
given to those monarchs who sat on the the throne of Syria, 
an empire founded by Seleucus, one of the captains of Alex- 
ander the Great, that received Babylon as his province, and 
conquered Syria.) He took Jerusalem after a siege of thres* , 



HISTORICAL READER. 249 

months. Judea became, from this time, a Roman province. 
He pushed his conquests as far as the Red Sea ; and part of 
Arabia was subdued. After these astonishing conquests, he 
returned to Italy with all the pomp and majesty of an eastern 
conqueror, and was honored with a triumph. 

But the Roman people, in the midst of their rejoicings at 
these splendid conquests, could not dismiss their apprehensions, 
that he would now seize the reins of government, and become 
sole and absolute master of the Roman world. Crassus, well 
knowing the insincerity of all Pompey's professions, withdrew 
from the city, taking with him his money and children. But 
the conqueror, after he had landed in Italy, ordered his sol- 
diers to disperse, and attend to their own affairs until his 
triumph. 

All the cities, as he journeyed towards Rome, poured forth 
their inhabitants to salute him. As the law did not permit 
him to enter Rome before his triumph, he desired the Senate 
to defer the election of consuls on his account, and this request 
was made, that he might, by his presence, support the interest 
of Piso ; but the influence of Cato, at this time, confirmed the 
Senate in their opposition to this unreasonable and illegal re- 
quest. Pompey, anxious to secure the friendship of this intrepid 
patriot, proposed a matrimonial alliance with his family, offer- 
ing to marry one of his nieces, asking the other for his son. 
But Cato, discerning his motive, rejected the proposal. 

Anxious to obtain the consulship for one of his friends, 
Pompey disgraced himself, in the estimation of all the friends 
of Roman liberty by distributing large sums of money amongst 
the tribes to secure the election. Cato, on this occasion, ob- 
served to the ladies of his family, who had wished for the 
alliance, that they must all have shared in this disgrace, if 
they had consented to Pompey's offer; and they admitted, that 
he was a better judge than they of honor and propriety. 

The time appointed for the triumph of the conqueror at last 
arrived ; and never before had any Roman general so splendid 
an exhibition, for none had brought in subjection to the power 
of Rome so many nations. The triumph lasted two days. 
At the head of the triumphal procession was carried a banner, 
with an inscription importing that Pompey, after he had deliv- 
ered all the maritime coasts from the pirates, and restored to 
the Roman people the empire of the sea, triumphed over Asia, 
Pontus, Armenia, Paphlagonia, Cappadocia, Syria, the Scythi- 
ans, the Jews, the Albanians, Iberia, the island of Crete, the 
Bastarnse, (a people of European Sarmatia,) and over the 



250 HISTORICAL READER. 

kings Mithridates and Tigranes. The riches displayed were 
prodigious. They consisted of a chess or draught board, 
made of two precious stones, four feet long, and three feet 
wide; a moon of gold, of above thirty pounds weight; three 
table-beds of gold ; vessels of gold adorned and enriched with 
precious stones, enough to furnish nine buffets ; three statues 
of gold, one of Minerva, another of Mars, and a third of Apollo; 
the golden vine of Aristobiilus ; thirty-three crowns of pearl; 
a little chapel consecrated to the Muses, all of pearl, with a sun 
dial at the top ; the effigies of the conqueror, made of pearl ; a 
chest filled with jewels and rings of great value, (which had 
belonged to Mithridates, and which Pompey consecrated in the 
Capitol, with the golden vine;) the throne and sceptre of Mith- 
ridates, and a bust of that prince in gold, of the height of eight 
cubits; a silver statue of Pharnaces ; and wagons full of gold 
and silver. 

This display of riches was followed by wagons filled with 
arms of all sorts, beaks of ships, a multitude of prisoners, not 
loaded with chains, (as had been the custom on former occa- 
sions,) but every one at liberty, and dressed after the mode of 
their respective countries. Immediately before the triumphal 
car, marched the kings, princes, and lords to the number of 
324, who had been subdued, or delivered as hostages. Among 
these were the younger Tigranes, with his wife and daughter ; 
the queen Zozima, the wife of the elder Tigranes; seven chil- 
dren of Mithridates; Olthaces, who had reigned at Colchis; 
Aristobiilus, king of the Jews, with his son Antigonus, and two 
daughters; several tyrants, and the captains of the Cilician 
pirates ; princesses of Scythia ; three Albanian generals, and 
two Iberian ; the hostages of these nations, and their king 
Comana ; and last of all Menander, commander-in-chief of the 
cavalry of Mithridates. 

Several pictures followed, which represented the vanquished 
kings, or the battles gained either by Pompey or his lieuten- 
ants, and a detail of the adventures of Mithridates. This long 
string of pictures was followed by the gods of the barbarians, 
led in triumph, together with their worshippers. 

Immediately after these was Pompey, mounted on a car, 
glittering with precious stones, and clothed in a military robe, 
said to be that of Alexander. The principal officers of the 
army followed the car, some on foot, and some on horse- 
back. 

There was an inscription on the table carried in the show, 
which declared, that whereas the revenue of the Republic, 



HISTORICAL READER. 251 

before his conquests, had not exceeded fifty millions of drach- 
mas a year, her revenues from the countries which he had 
conquered amounted to eighty-five millions. 

It had formerly been the custom, when the triumphal pro- 
cession was over, to put the captives to death, or condemn them 
to perpetual imprisonment. But Pompey's captives were sent 
back to their own countries. 

Pompey built a temple to Minerva out of the spoils, on which 
there was an inscription giving a summary of his victories. 
It stated that he had finished a war of thirty years continuance, 
had vanquished, slain, and taken 2,183,000 men; sunk or 
taken 846 ships; reduced to the power of the Commonwealth 
1,538 towns and fortresses; and subdued all the countries be- 
tween the lake Mseotis and the Red Sea. 

Six years after the building of this temple, Pompey con- 
constructed, at his own expense, a permanent theatre. Before 
this time, the theatres were only temporary structures, which 
were taken down when the shows were over. This theatre 
is much celebrated for its grandeur and magnificence. The 
plan was taken from the theatre of Mytilene, but was greatly 
enlarged, and itcommodiously contained 40,000 people. It was 
surrounded by a portico, to shelter the people in bad weather, 
and had a curia or senate-house annexed to it; there was also 
a basilica, or grand hall, that might be used for judicial, or any 
other public business; and it was adorned with a great many 
statues of the most distinguished characters, male and female. 
At one end of this theatre, was a beautiful temple dedicated to 
Venus the conqueress. The temple was added, it is said, to 
avoid the reproach of spending so much money for the mere use 
of luxury: and it was so placed, that those who came to see the 
shows, might seem to come to worship the goddess. 

At the solemnity of the dedication, Pompey entertained the 
people with the most magnificent shows that had ever been 
exhibited in Rome. In the theatre were stage-plays, pieces of 
music, wrestling and all kinds of athletic exercises : in the 
circus were horse races, and wild beast shows, for five days 
successively, in which 500 lions were killed ; and on the last 
day, twenty elephants were attacked. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



dIGERO — CATO *— C J3SAR. 



Cicero, though he greatly distinguished his consulship by 
the defeat of Catiline's conspiracy, the lustre of which, how- 
ever, he tarnished by his excessive vanity, has acquired more 
real fame by his literary compositions arid splendid oratory, 
than by his political conduct.; He was by no means destitute 
of ambition, hut he was of a timid, vaccilating disposition; and 
seems to have been generally actuated by a supreme regard 
to his own private interests. He set himself in opposition to 
the rights of the people, and was solicitous to obtain the favor 
of the nobility. His conduct during the civil wars was by no 
means that of a patriot; and when we see him dubious and 
irresolute, sorry not to follow Pompey, and yet afraid to oppose 
Csesar, we cannot hesitate to pronounce him a coward ; and 
we regard him as a man much more solicitous about his own 
safety, than the welfare of his country. 

Marcus Tullius Cicero was born B. C. 106, at Arpinum. 
Being the first born, he received the name of his father and 
grand-father, Marcus. This name was properly personal, 
equivalent to that now given at the time of baptism, and was 
imposed with various ceremonies. The child was carried to 
the temple by the friends and relations of the family } and be- 
fore the altars of the gods, was recommended to the protection 
of some tutelar deity. Tullius was the name of the family. 
The third name was generally added on account of some 
memorable action, quality, or accident. As Tullius, the 
family name, was derived from the situation of the farm, so 
Cicero, the surname, from the culture of vetches. 

Cicero's father encouraged the promising genius of his son, 
and gave him the ablest masters. When Cicero, at about 17 
years of age, had assumed the manly gown, and had, accord- 
ing to custom, been introduced to the Forum, he was placed 
under the care of Q. M. Screvola, the augur, the principal 
lawyer, as well as statesman of that day. (The Forum was 



HISTORICAL HEADER. 253 

the great school of business and eloquence, the scene on which 
all the affairs of the State were determined, and where the 
foundations of the hopes and fortunes of the candidates for 
honor were to be laid. The young men of distinction were 
introduced to it with much solemnity, attended by all the 
friends and dependants of the family, and, after divine riles, 
performed in the Capitol, were committed to the special protec- 
tion of some eminent Senator, distinguished for his eloquence 
and knowledge of the laws, to be instructed by his advice, in 
the management of civil affairs.) 

Cicero attached himself closely to his patron, and carefully 
treasured in his mind all the remarkable sayings which dropped 
from him, as so many lessons of prudence for his future conduct. 
After the death ofSccevola, he became the follower of another 
eminent man of the same family; who, though he did not pro- 
fess to teach, yet freely gave his advice to all the young students 
who consulted him. 

Under these masters he acquired a complete knowledge 
of the laws of his country. This branch of knowledge was 
thought to be of so much consequence at Rome, that it w 7 as 
the common exercise of boys at school to learn the laws of the 
twelve tables by heart, as they did their poets and classic 
authors. The profession of the law, next to that of arms and 
eloquence, was a sure recommendation to the first honors of 
the Republic; and, for that reason, was preserved, as it were, 
hereditary in some of the noblest families of Rome; who, by 
giving their advice gratis to all who asked for it, engaged the 
favor and observance of their fellow citizens, and acquired 
great authority in all the affairs of state. It was the custom 
of these old Senators, eminent for their wisdom and experience, 
to walk up and down the Forum, as a signal for their offering 
themselves freely to all, who had occasion to consult them, 
not only in cases of law, but in their private and domestic 
affairs. But in latter times, they sat at home, with their doors 
open, on a kind of throne, or raised seat, like the confessors in 
foreign churches, giving access and audience to all people. 

Cicero's notions of the requisites for an orator were of a high 
order. In order to speak aptly, elegantly, and copiously on 
any subject, which he might be called upon to undertake, the 
orator, he said, should have a perfect knowledge of all the arts, 
and every thing that is great; and unless there is a fund of 
useful knowledge, the greatest volubility cf speaking will ap- 
pear empty and ridiculous. Who does not know, that the 
greatest power of eloquence consists in awakening the soul to 

22 



254 HISTORICAL READER. 

anger, hatred, and grief, or in recalling it from these emotions 
to gentleness and pity. But this arbitrary command of the 
passions can be gained only by him, who has a thorough 
knowledge of the nature of mankind, the whole extent of their 
faculties, and those motives which animate or restrain the 
soul. The province of an oratoi is to talk in a language that 
is proper, graceful, and suited to the affections and understand- 
ings of mankind. As an orator will often have to touch upon 
piety, concord, equity, friendship, temperance, magnanimity, 
and upon all the virtuous and vicious qualities of human nature, 
the philosophy of morals must be completely understood by 
him, if he would speak on these subjects with feeling, propriety, 
and elegance, In speeches delivered before judges in assem- 
blies and senates, though the orator does not make any imme- 
diate application of the arts of natural and moral philosophy, 
of history and poetry; yet it is easily discerned, whether he is 
a pedantic declaimer, or trained to eloquence by all the arts 
that belong to a liberal education. Great, weighty, and im- 
portant, is the undertaking and profession, when, amidst a 
numerous assembly profoundly silent, one man alone is heard 
discoursing on the most important subjects; for there is scarcely 
any one that hears him, who has not a quicker, or more piercing 
sense of the defects than of the beauties of his expression, and 
who, in condemning what he dislikes, does not overlook many 
of the excellencies that are worthy of admiration. 

Cicero diligently availed himself of every opportunity to 
perfect himself in the art of oratory. He heard the harangues 
of the magistrates who spoke from the rostra ; he attended the 
lectures of the celebrated Grecian philosophers who visited 
Rome ; and spent the intervals of his leisure in the company of 
ladies, who were remarkable for their conversational talents. 
At the age of twenty-six, he offered his services at the bar. 
His voice, at this time, had a variety of inflections, but was 
harsh and unformed; and as, in the vehemence and enthusiasm 
of speaking, he always rose into a loud key, there was danger 
of his injuring his health, which was by no means good. 
Partly to invigorate his constitution and improve his voice, 
and partly to escape the tyranny of Sylla, whom he had of- 
fended by nobly defending Roscius, (when every one else was 
afraid to undertake his cause,) he went to Athens and Rhodes, 
and by regular, but prudent exercise, he rendered his voice 
sweet, full, and sonorous. And he suffered not a day to pass 
without either declaiming, or attending the most celebrated 
orators. Apollonius gave this gratifying testimony of the 



HISTORICAL READER. 255 

astonishing proficiency of the young orator, whom he had 
desired to declaim in Greek, "As for you, Cicero, I praise and 
admire you, but I am concerned for the fate of Greece. She 
had nothing left but the glory of eloquence and erudition, and 
you are carrying that too to Rome." 

Upon inquiring of the oracle at Delphi, by what means he 
might rise to the greatest glory, the priestess replied, "Follow 
nature, and do not take the opinion of the multitude as the 
guide of your life." On his return to Rome, he almost imme- 
diately gained the palm of eloquence ; and, by the unanimous 
suffrage of the tribes, he was elected to the office of quaestor. 
Sicily was assigned him for his province. He discharged the 
duties of his office with so much prudence and address, that he 
gained the admiration and affection of all the Sicilians. At 
the expiration of his year, he took leave of them in an affec- 
tionate address, and assured them of his protection at Rome, 
a promise which he faithfully kept. 

On his return to Rome, he closely attended the Forum, and, 
by a perpetual course of pleading, greatly advanced his in- 
terest in the city. He refused to take any fees, or accept 
any presents. But he did not neglect the usual arts of recom- 
mending himself to popular favor. He made himself well 
acquainted with the name, the abode, and condition of the 
principal plebeians ; and, to assist his memory, he had at his 
elbow, on all public occasions, a nomenclator. (The people, 
at this time, expected to be much courted by all those who 
were candidates for public offices.) He had a handsome coun- 
try seat near Naples, and another at Pompeii, but at Rome he 
had a house on the Palatine hill, that those who came to pay 
their court to him might not have too far to go ; for he had a 
levee every day. Pompey himself paid Cicero great respect, 
and found his political assistance very useful to him. 

In his 43d year he was elected to the consulship; during 
which he was hailed by many as the saviour and second founder 
of Rome, in consequence of his defeating Catiline's conspiracy. 
But, there were many, amongst whom was Csesar, who endea- 
vored to detract from his merit, and they would not suffer him 
to address the people at the expiration of his consular office, 
when he was required to take the oath that he had not acted 
contrary to law. Instead of the usual oath, he declared, "that 
he had saved his country, and preserved the empire." 

This spirited conduct exasperated Csesar, and the tribunes 
etill more. And they actually proposed that Pompey, with 
his army, should be recalled to suppress what they called the 



256 HISTORICAL HEADER. 

despotic power of Cicero. But Cato, being one of the tribunes, 
with all his indignant energy, defeated this base conspiracy, 
(Csesar keenly resented the punishment of the partizans of 
Catiline,) and in a set speech on Cicero's consulship, gave him 
the glorious title of the father of his country. 

Cicero's vanity now surpassed the endurance of many of 
his friends. In the Senate, in the assembly of the people, in 
the courts of judicature, Catiline and Lentulus were constantly 
introduced in his speeches. He was not satisfied with the 
praise which he received from others, but, in all his orations, 
and in all writings, he perpetually introduced his own exploits. 
But this great weakness, so unworthy of a mind so highly 
cultivated, was not tainted with the vice of envy. Though 
insatiably greedy of praise, he was always disposed to do full 
justice to the merits of others. 

Cato — Marcus Cato was the great grandson of Cato, the 
censor. From his infancy he discovered in his voice, his 
countenance, and in his diversions, a firmness and solidity, 
which neither passion nor any thing else could move. He 
pursued every object he had in vieyv with a vigor far above 
his years, and a resolution that nothing could resist. Those 
who were inclined to flatter were sure to meet with a severe 
repulse; and to those who endeavored to intimidate him, he 
was intractable. Scarcely any thing could make him laugh, 
and it was but rarely that his countenance was softened to a 
smile. He was not easily moved to anger, but it was difficult 
to appease his resentment when once excited. 

His apprehension was slow, and he acquired with difficulty; 
but what he had once learned, he long retained. 

When in his fourteenth year, on seeing the heads of many 
illustrious persons, who had been murdered by the direction of 
Sylla, and observing that the by-standers sighed in secret at 
these scenes of blood, he asked his preceptor, "Why some- 
body did not kill that man?" "Because," replied the tutor, 
"they fear him more than they hate him." " Why, then," said 
Cato, " do you not give me a sword, that I may kill him, and 
deliver my country from slavery." 

He formed, at an early period of his life, an intimacy with 
Antipater, the Stoic philosopher; and he devoted himself to the 
acquisition of moral and political philosophy, but made the 
principle of justice the subject of his particular study. He 
cultivated the art of eloquence to adapt himself for addressing 
popular assemblies. Yet, he did not declaim before company, 
or attend the exercises of other young men. And, when one 






HISTORICAL READER. 257 

of his friends said, u Cato, the world finds fault with your 
silence," he answered, " No matter, so long as it does not find 
fault with my life: I shall begin to speak, when I have things 
to say that deserve to be known." 

There was nothing of youthful sallies or finical affectation 
in his oratory; all was rough, sensible, and strong. His voice 
was loud enough to be heard by a large multitude ; and his 
strength was so great, that he often spoke a whole day without 
being tired. To strengthen his constitution, he used the most 
laborious exercise. He accustomed himself to go bare-headed 
in the hottest aud coldest weather; and travelled on foot at all 
seasons of the year. In time of sickness, his patience and 
abstinence were extraordinary. If he was attacked by a fever, 
he spent the whole day alone, and suffered no person to ap- 
proach him, till the fever had abated. 

Convinced that a great reformation in the manners and 
customs of his country was needed, he determined to set him- 
self in opposition to the corrupt fashions which then prevailed. 
Observing that the richest purple was the color most desired, 
he always dressed in black. And he often appeared in public 
after dinner, barefooted, and without his gown, that he might 
learn to act independently of the tyrannical prescriptions of 
the fashionable world. 

When he joined the army, he had the command of a legion 
given to him. In this post, it was his great ambition to induce 
all his troops to observe the rules of strict discipline, and to 
distinguish themselves by their good conduct. With this view, 
he lessened nothing of that authority which might inspire fear, 
but he called in the support of virtue to his assistance. By 
instruction and persuasion, as well as by rewards and punish- 
ments, he formed them so well, that it was difficult to say, 
whether his troops were more peaceable or more warlike, more 
valiant or more just. They were dreadful to their enemies, 
and courteous to their allies ; afraid to do a dishonorable thing, 
and ambitious of honest praise. 

Hence, though honor and fame were not Cato's objects, 
they flowed in upon him; he was held in universal esteem, 
and had the hearts of his soldiers: for whatever he com- 
manded others to do, he was the first to do himself. In his 
dress, his manner of living, and marching, he resembled the 
private soldier more than the officer; and at the same time, 
in virtue, in dignity of mind, and strength of eloquence, he 
far succeeded all that had the name of general. 

His great attachment to his brother Csepio evinces that the 
22* 



258 HISTORICAL READER. 

unnatural rigor of the stoical philosophy, which affected his 
general demeanor, and rendered him often severe, morose and 
inexorable in public life, had not banished all the softer affec- 
tions. When he was in Macedonia, he learnt that his brother 
was dangerously ill--' The sea was extremely rough, and no 
large vessel could be obtained; yet he ventured in a small 
passage boat, and narrowly escaped being drowned. On this 
occasion he showed the sensibility of a brother, rather than 
the stern fortitude of a philosopher of the Stoical school. He 
wept, he groaned, he embraced the dead body ; and he spent 
an immense sum of money on his funeral. Numerous and 
very expensive spices and costly robes were burnt on the 
funeral pile; and a most splendid monument was erected by 
him in the Forum. 

Before Cato returned to Rome to engage in civil affairs, he 
visited Asia, that he might observe the manners, customs, and 
political and commercial importance of every province. The 
unassuming deportment of his servants, and the very plain 
dress which he wore, not unfrequently exposed him to un- 
courteous treatment. It was his practice to send his baker 
and cook before him to the place where he intended to lodge, 
that he might give as little trouble as possible at the house 
where he spent the night. When he arrived at Epheus, he 
went to pay his respects to Pompey, and was received with 
apparent cordiality. But the great general felt always under 
a degree of restraint in his company, and was evidently glad 
to be relieved from the presence of this upright man, in whose 
society he felt his own inferiority. 

The great presents which were sent to him by Dejotarus, 
king of Galatia, the friend of his father, he positively refused. 
Some of his companions being much disappointed, he said to 
them, " Corruption will never want a pretence; but you shall 
at ail times freely share with me whatever I can obtain with 
justice and honor." 

After his return to Rome, Cato assiduously prosecuted his 
studies, and though he was not without ambition, and was now 
of an age for the qusestorship, he would not solicit that office, 
till he had, in every respect, fully qualified himself for it. 
After his election he introduced many important reformations, 
and discharged the duties of the office with great fidelity. He 
enjoyed not only the name and honor; but, understanding tho- 
roughly all that belonged to his department, he experienced 
the great satisfaction of performing with diligence, integrity, 
and the most rigid impartiality all its important duties. Having 



HISTORICAL READER. 259 

cleared the exchequer of all informers and all embezzlers, he 
showed, that it is possible for a government to be rich without 
oppressing the subject. His conduct, at first, was very obnox- 
ious to his colleagues, but, being freed from the importunity of 
avaricious solicitors, they, at length, acknowledged that firm- 
ness and honesty are the best policy. He was in the treasury 
from morning till night; and there was no assembly of the 
people, nor any meeting of the Senate, that he did not attend. 
At the expiration of his office, he was conducted to his house 
by the great majority of the citizens. 

Whenever the Senate was summoned to meet, Cato was the 
first to attend, and the last to withdraw; and that he might not 
lose an} r time, it was his frequent practice (whilst the rest of 
the members were assembling) to sit down and read, holding 
his gown before his book, that it might not be seen. His 
attention to the affairs of government, free from views of 
honor or profit, were not left to chance, humor, or conveni- 
ence; and he always made his own private business yield to 
that of the public. It was his maxim, " That a good citizen 
ought to be as solicitous respecting the public welfare, as a bee 
is about its hive." 

The friends of Cato were desirous that he should offer him- 
self for the tribuneship, but he refused on the ground, that he 
was not yet sufficiently prepared for the important office. 
But learning that a man, whom he believed entertained 
designs inimical to the welfare of the State, was offering 
himself a candidate, he overcame his objection, and became 
his opponent. 

Yet, this man, generally so exemplary in the discharge of 
his public duties, occasionally regulated his conduct by the 
principle of expediency, and deemed it fitting, on one occasion, 
at least, to use corrupt means to carry an election. Bribery, 
which he had so much condemned in Pompey, he himself was 
guilty of practising. He was indeed influenced by an ardent 
desire to promote the welfare of the Commonwealth ; but the 
principle of genuine virtue sanctions not corrupt means, even 
in a good cause. In early life he was noted for his temperance, 
but as he advanced in years, he degraded himself by an exces- 
sive indulgence in intoxicating liquor. " O, thou invisible spirit 
of wine, if thou hast no name to be known by, let us call thee 
— devil. Oh! strange! that men should put an enemy into their 
mouths, to steal away their brains, and transform themselves 
into beasts ! " Cato became so fond of social enjoyments, that 
he frequently prolonged them through a great part of the night. 



260 HISTORICAL READER. 

Coesar stated, " that while Cato was going home from one of 
his evening parties, in a state of intoxication, with his head 
covered, that he might not be known, some persons whom he 
met, took off the disguise ; but they were so ashamed when 
they discovered who it was, that it might have been thought, 
Cato had detected them, and not they Cato." 

His conduct respecting his wife Marcia, proves the very 
lax notions which prevailed on the most important relation of 
life. A practice so grossly revolting to the moral sense, and 
so pernicious in its consequences, though tolerated at Rome, 
could never have been followed by one who understood the 
essential principles of virtue. The doctrines and precepts of 
Stoical philosophy are not calculated to spiritualize the mind, 
to soften the heart, to humanize our natures with compassion, 
humility, and forgiveness, in all the dear relations of father, son, 
brother, and wife, and all the charities just and pure, that 
excite a thousand tender solicitudes, a thousand waking watch- 
ful cares, of meek anxiety and patient sacrifices. No; it is 
Christianity only which imparts all these blessed influences, 
that raise man so high in the scale of being, and lead him to 
take a generous interest in the welfare of all mankind, and 
love his kindred with a pure heart fervently. 

C. J. Cesar. — The character of Csesar is represented in very 
different colors by various authors; but all unite in ascribing 
to him transcendant intellectual qualities and attainments* He 
was by nature endowed with every great and noble quality 
that could exalt human nature, and obtain an ascendency in 
society. He was provident in council, fearless in action, and 
expeditious in executing his purposes, generous to his friends, 
placable to his enemies, and scarcely inferior to any man that 
ever lived fri abilities, learning, and eloquence. He was a 
munificent patron of wit and learning. In all the military 
qualifications he had no superior; and he was esteemed and 
beloved by his soldiers. In riding, in throwing the javelin, 
and in every exercise, he possessed singular dexterity; and he 
was able to endure the greatest hardships and toil with aston- 
ishing perseverance. He used commonly to march before his 
troops, bareheaded, both in foul and fair weather; and to swim 
over the rivers which obstructed his way. In his expeditions, 
he was daring, but cautious; but on all occasions he acted with 
the greatest intrepidity and resolution; and the serenity of his 
countenance was often, in imminent dangers, the chief support 
of the courage of his troops. Just and impartial to his officers 
and soldiers, he exacted the strictest discipline when the enemy 



HISTORICAL READER. 261 

was near; but on other occasions, he excused them from all 
duty, and left them to revel at pleasure, remarking that they 
did not fight the worse for being perfumed. The fact is, that 
the unbounded indulgence of his own licentious passions, which 
no times nor circumstances restrained, rendered it necessary, 
to avoid the reflections of his companions in arms, that he 
should permit them to follow their own inclinations, in the 
intervals between every en^a^ement. A regard to his own 
selfish gratifications made him indifferent to the pernicious 
consequences of this example. Ceesar's love of pleasure was 
criminal in the highest possible degree; and to gratify his 
passions he lavished immense sums of money. His debts 
amounted to eight hundred and thirty talents, when he entered 
on his first public office. But his ambition was his all absorb- 
ing passion. Pleasure and ambition he indulged in their turns 
to the greatest excess; yet the second was always predominant, 
and to it he could sacrifice all the charms of the first, and 
draw pleasure even from toils and dangers, when they minis- 
tered to his glory. When one of his friends on passing through 
a village on the Alps, remarked, " Can there here be any dis- 
putes for offices, any contentions for precedency, or such envy 
and ambition as we see among the great!" Csesar said with 
great seriousness, " I assure you I would rather be the first 
man here, than the second man in Rome." When he was in 
Spain, while he was on one occasion reading the life of Alex- 
ander, he was so much affected with it, that after sitting pensive 
for some time, he at last burst into tears; and said in repiy to 
the anxious inquiry of his friends, "Do you not think 1 have 
sufficient cause for concern, when Alexander, at my age, 
reigned over so many conquered countries, and I have not one 
glorious achievement to boast?" Cicero says, " He thought 
supreme power the greatest of goddesses, and frequently quoted 
a verse of Euripides, which expressed the image of his soul, 
i that if right and justice were ever to be violated, they were to 
be violated for the sake of reigning.' " This was the chief end 
and purpose of his life; the scheme that he had formed from 
his early youth ; so that, as Cato truly declared of him, " he 
came with sobriety and meditation to the ruin of the republic." 
He used to say, there were two things necessary, to acquire 
and support power — -soldiers and money; which yet depended 
mutually upon each other: with money he provided soldiers, 
and with soldiers extorted money; and he was of all men the 
most rapacious in plundering both friends and foes; sparing 
neither prince, nor state, nor temple. 



262 HISTORICAL HEADER. 

The moderation which he displayed after his victories, has 
been highly extolled, but in this he shewed his penetration, not 
the disinterested spirit of clemency. The exhibition of certain 
virtues is, on some occasions, necessary to put in motion the 
political machine. It was requisite that he should have the 
appearance of clemency to prosecute his ambitious schemes. 
There is no greatness of mind in a generosity, that is mani- 
fested in order to maintain the usurpation of supreme power. 

Csesar had the fortune to live in times of trouble and civil 
commotion, when the minds of men were in a ferment: when 
opportunities of great actions are frequent, when talents are 
every thing, and those who can only boast of their virtues are 
nothing. If he had lived a hundred years before this period of 
general excitement, he would have been no more than an ob- 
scure villain; and instead of giving laws to the world, he would 
not have been able to produce any confusion in it. The great 
and versatile talents of this singular man, (who wrote his 
commentaries on the Gallic wars, on the spot where he fought 
his battles, in a style remarkable for its elegance and correct- 
ness ; who was inferior only to Cicero in eloquence; who, 
in the midst of his campaigns, observed, with the eye of an 
astronomer, the revolutions of the heavenly bodies, and who 
reformed the calendar,) and, above all, the good fortune which 
constantly attended him, till the moment of his assassination, 
have blinded the eyes of mankind to the enormity of his 
actions. Had Cresar, instead of gaining, lost the battle of 
Pharsalia, his character would, at this hour, have ranked little 
above that of Catiline, and the weakest man would have viewed 
his enterprise against his country in blacker colors, than, per- 
haps, even Cato, with all the animosity of a party man, ever 
viewed it at the time. His real merit — the justness of his 
taste, the simplicity and elegance of his writings, the propriety 
of his eloquence, his skill in war, his resources in distress, his 
cool and sedate judgment in danger, his unexampled gene- 
rosity to his enemies, would all have been acknowledged; as 
the real merit of Catiline, who had many great qualities, is 
acknowledged at this day. But the insolence and injustice of 
his all-grasping ambition would have darkened and extinguished 
the glory of all that real merit. Fortune has in this, as well 
as in some other respects, great influence over the moral senti- 
ments of mankind, and, according as she is either favorable 
or adverse, can render the same character the object either 
of general love and admiration ? or of universal hatred and 
contempt. 



HISTORICAL READER. 263 

C. Julius Caesar was born B. C. 99. The Julian family 
was patrician, and from the beginning of the Commonwealth, 
had attained the highest dignities. He was in his sixteenth 
year, when he lost his father. His mother, Aurelia, was a 
lady of merit, and is much praised for the care she took of her 
son's education. He was attached to the party of Maiius; 
and, as has been stated, was saved by the powerful intercession 
of the friends of his family. He made his first campaigns in 
Asia, and acquired the honor of a civic crown. On the news 
of Svlla's death he returned to Rome, and was very active in 
obtaining an amnesty for the Marian party. He greatly dis- 
tinguished himself as an orator, when he was only twenty- 
three years of age, by the speech which he made against 
Dolabella. To perfect himself in eloquence, he went to Rhodes 
to attend the lectures of Apollonius, the rhetorician. In his 
passage he was taken by pirates. Whilst he v/as waiting in 
their custody for the money for his ransom, he shared in their 
diversions, and joined them in their exercises. He wrote poems 
and orations, and rehearsed them to his fierce captors; and 
when they did not express any admiration, he called them 
dunces and barbarians, and, on all occasions, treated them as 
his inferiors. Their cupidity tolerated his insolence, as they 
expected a large ransom. As soon as he recovered his liberty, 
he fitted out several vessels, surprised and took the pirates 
prisoners, and crucified them. On his return to Rome, he 
employed all possible means of promoting his interests. He 
was more especially solicitous to obtain the good opinion of 
the plebeians; he was lavish of his money and that of his 
friends; he was extremely affable and polite to all, and conde- 
scending to the lowest of the people; and was most magnificent 
in his retinue and his table, and indulged in a course of licen- 
tious extravagance, as if the wealth of the commonwealth was 
at his command, and the world was made to minister to his 
gratifications. When he was appointed sedile, he exhibited 
three hundred and twenty pairs of gladiators; and in the 
other diversions of the theatre, in the processions and public 
tables, he far surpassed the most ambitious of Jiis predecessors. 
These artifices of popularity, which ought to have excited the 
indignation of the people, completely gained their favor, and 
all were anxious to bestow new honors and employments 
to recompence his liberality. His affability, grace and dignity 
were almost irresistible. He was the advocate of all popular 
measures, and was regarded as the great supporter of the 
people's rights. Cato, Cicero, and the Senate, 



264 HISTORICAL READEK. 

"Observ'd liis courtship to the common people: 

How he did seem to dive into their hearts, 

With humble and familiar courtesy; 

What reverence he did throw away on slaves: 

Wooing poor craftsmen w T ith the craft of smiles, 

And patient underbearing of his fortune, 

As 'twere, to banish their effects with him." 

Cicero seems to have been the first who suspected something 
formidable in these popular measures, and saw the deep and 
dangerous designs of Csesar under the smiles of his benignity. 
He remarked, " I perceive an inclination for tyranny in all 
the projects he executes; but, on the o'her hand, when I see 
him adjusting his hair with so much exactness, (he was re- 
markable for the great attention which he paid to his dress, 
and the decoration of his handsome person,) and scratching 
his head with one finger, I can hardly think t hat such a man 
can conceive so vast and fatal a design as the destruction of 
the Roman commonwealth." 

The Marian party were much gratified by the oration 
which he pronounced from the rostra on occasion of the 
funeral of his aunt Julia, the widow of Marius; and by 
his causing images of Marius to be carried in the funeral 
procession. 

At the funeral of his wife Cornelia, the daughter of Cinna, 
he made an innovation on the custom of pronouncing orations 
on the funeral of aged women, who only were distinguished 
by this honorable mark of respect. The people regarded this 
breach of a long established custom as a singular proof of his 
affectionate disposition ; though he was at the time violating, 
in his daily conduct, the most secred obligations of domestic 
virtue. 

During his sedileship, he placed in fhe Capitol in the night, 
statues of Marius, glistering with gold, and of most exquisite 
workmanship, with a representation of his victories, adorned 
with trophies. This bold proceeding made a great sensation, 
and the circumstance was brought before the Senate. And it 
was said, " You no longer attack the Commonwealth by mines, 
but by open battery." The people, however, were highly 
delighted. They bestowed the greatest encomiums on Csesar, 
and assured him, that he might gain every thing with their 
consent, and become the first man in Rome. He was jn- 
cjeed rapidly advancing towards the object of his criminal 



HISTORICAL READER. 265 

ambition ; and this year he obtained the office of the high 
priesthood. 

After the expiration of his prsetorship, Csesar went to take 
the government of Spain, the province which had been assigned 
to him. Having subdued the whole country, he returned to 
Rome, B. C. 59. 

23 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



TRIUMVIRATE OF POMPEY, CESAR, AND CRASSUS. 

B. C. 59. Caesar, on his return from Spain, found the 
direction of public affairs in a great measure under the control 
of Pompey and Crassus; each of whom was ineffectually 
struggling to become the ascendant. Caesar, even more 
ambitious than the other two, and conscious of his superior 
ability, proposed that they should compromise their dispute, 
and form, in conjunction with himself, a triumvirate, or asso- 
ciation of three persons, and assume the whole power of the 
government. The proposition was acceded to; and these three 
traitors, in order to make their confederacy lasting, bound 
themselves, by mutual promises and oaths, to support each 
other, and suffer nothing, to be undertaken, or carried into 
execution, without their unanimous consent. 

This may be regarded as the final blow to the liberty of 
Rome. This infamous association was, for some time, kept a 
secret, and the people could only indulge in conjectures as to 
the cause of the reconciliation of Pompey and Crassus. By 
many, it was attributed to the friendly offices of Caesar. The 
first effect of this conspiracy was the election of Caesar to the 
consulship; but he was disappointed in not being able to elect 
one of his creatures as his colleague. The Senate, supported 
by Cato, determined to counteract his efforts, by having re- 
course to the system of lavish bribery which he practised; 
and they distributed so much money amongst the venal popu- 
lace, that. Caesar's candidate was defeated. 

Caesar gained golden opinions from the people by carrying 
into effect an agrarian law, which seems to have extended only 
to Campania. Cato, for opposing it, was committed to prison; 
and Bibuius, Caesar's colleague in the consulship, was violently 
driven out of the Forum; and his three tribunes were wounded. 
Caesar became ihe sole acting consul, and he proceeded to 
secure the knights in his interest by abating a third of the rents 
which they paid into the treasury. At the expiration of his 



historical readeh: 267 

consulship, the people, in opposition to the Senate, granted to 
Caesar the government of Cisalpine Gaul and lllyricum, with 
three legions, for the term of five years; and the Senate, when 
the government of Transalpine Gaul became vacant, decreed 
it to him, to prevent his recurring a second time to the people. 

Caesar, to secure the continuance of the alliance, gave to 
Pompey, in marriage, his daughter Julia, a beautiful and most 
accomplished young lady. And Caesar married Calpurnia, 
the daughter of Calpurnius Piso, whom the triumviri had 
selected for one of the consuls next year. Caesar, soon after, 
went into Gaul, where {as his Commentaries, written in a style- 
of beautiful simplicity, shew) he equalled, if not surpassed, the 
greatest of his predecessors in military skill, prudence, and 
bravery. 

B. C. 57. Clodius, a man of an infamous character, elected 
tribune, proposed several popular laws to ingratiate himself 
with the people, that he might be enabled to wreak his ven- 
geance on Cicero. And this great orator, so lately hailed as 
the saviour of his country, was now forced into banishment 
for putting Catiline's accomplices to death. Cicero supplicated 
the protection of Pompey, whom he had immortalized in one 
of his splendid orations; but Pompey refused to afford him any 
assistance, meanly alleging in excuse, that he w r ould not act 
in opposition to Caesar. The banishment of Cicero was, evi- 
dently, a measure preconcerted by the triumviri, who feared 
the effects of his eloquence, and knew his attachment to the 
senatorial part}'. Before he withdrew from his country, he 
deposited a small statue of Minerva, which had long been 
reverenced in his family, as a tutelar deity, in the temple of 
Jupiter, that in the plunder of his house, this sacred guardian 
might not be profaned by impious hands. He left Rome in 
the night, escorted by a numerous guard of friends, who, after 
two days' journey, took their leave with expressions of the 
greatest affection. 

Clodius obtained a decree, "That as Cicero had put Roman 
citizens to death, unheard and uncondemned, he should be 
interdicted from fire and water; that no one should presume to 
harbor or receive him on pain of death, and that whoever 
should move for the recalling of him, should be treated as a 
public enemy." This vindictive tribune, immediately, plun- 
dered and demolished Cicero's houses, both in the city and 
country; and built, upon the area of his house in Rome, a 
temple to the goddess of Liberty/ 

The character of Cicero appears to little advantage during 



268 HISTORICAL READER- 

bis banishment; for, although he was plentifully supplied with 
all the means of obtaining the comforts and luxuries of life* 
and was received every where with the highest marks of re- 
spect, his letters, during this period, evince that he had not 
imbibed the spirit of that philosophy which his works inculcate. 
He gave way to despondency, and he constantly speaks of his 
tears and his misery. " I must lay down my pen," he writes; 
" my tears flow too fast to allow me to proceed." And he 
often regrets, that he passively submitted to his enemies, and 
had not recourse to arms. 

This great man, who had been the saviour of his country, 
who had feared, in the support of that cause, neither the in- 
sults of a desperate party, nor the daggers of assassins, when 
he came to suffer for the same cause, sank under the weight. 
He dishonored that banishment which might have rendered his 
glory complete. Uncertain where he should go, or what he 
should do, fearful as a woman, and froward as a child, he 
lamented the loss of his rank, of his riches, and of his splendid 
popularity. His eloquence served only to paint his misery in 
stronger colors. He wept over the ruins of his fine house; 
and his separation from Terentia, whom he repudiated not 
long afterwards, (on the plea that she was peevish and expen- 
sive, but, in reality, that he might marry a beautiful young 
woman with a good fortune,) was, perhaps, an affliction to 
him at the time. Every thing becomes intolerable to the man 
who is once subdued by grief. He regrets what he took no 
pleasure in, and, overloaded already, he shrinks at the weight 
of a feather. Cicero's behavior was such, that his friends, as 
well as his enemies, believed him to have lost his senses. 
Caesar heard, with secret satisfaction, of the man, who had 
refused to be his lieutenant, weeping under the rod of Clodius. 
Pompey hoped to find some excuse for his own ingratitude, in 
the contempt which the friend, whom he had abandoned, ex- 
posed himself to. Nay, Atticus, the celebrated timeserver, 
judged him too nearly attached to his former fortune, and 
reproached him for it. Atticus blushed for Tully, and the 
most plausible man alive assumed the style of Cato. 

After an exile of sixteen months, Cicero was recalled, and 
all Italy, as he records, brought him back on its shoulders. 
The whole road from Brundusium to Rome was lined on both 
sides with crowds of men, women, and children; and statues 
and public honors were every where decreed him. The Senate 
ordered that Cicero's losses of property should be repaired, 
and his houses rebuilt at the public cost. Pompey again 



HISTORICAL READER. 269 

professed himself the friend of Cicero, and was supported by 
the advice and influence of the orator. And Cicero recom- 
mended himself to Caesar, by proposing that the command of 
the hero of Gaul should be continued till he had finished the 
war, which he was carrying on with splendid success. 

Cicero composed a poem in compliment to Caesar; and in 
one of his letters, relating to his present alliance, he most sadly 
betrays his want of principle. "To confess the truth, I find it 
difficult to digest the meanness of recanting old principles. 
But adieu, to all right, true, honest counsels. It is incredible 
what perfidy there is in those who want to be leaders. I felt 
what it was to my cost, when I was drawn in, deserted, and 
betrayed by them. You will tell me, you advised me, indeed, 
to act, but not to write: it is true, but I was willing to put 
myself under a necessity of adhering to my new alliance (with 
the triumviri) and preclude the possibility of returning to those 
who, instead of pitying me, as they ought, never cease envying 
me. But since those who have no power will not love me, 
my business is to acquire the love of those who have. You 
will say, f wish that you had done it long ago; I know you 
wished it; and I was a mere ass for not minding you." Here 
is the gross selfishness of an apostate, who shamelessly glories 
in his own degradation. Indeed, a man who laments, with all 
the bitterness of grief, a reverse of fortune, shows that he 
attaches supreme importance to his external possessions, that 
mammon is his god, and the object of a devoted idolatry; and 
that all his professions and principles will be disregarded and 
renounced, and his party abandoned at the suggestions of 
gross self-interest. Let no such man be trusted. 

B. C. 54. Pompey and Crassus became candidates for the 
consulship; and so great was the dread of their resentment, 
that there were no competitors. Cato, however, at last, indu- 
ced his brother-in-law, Domitius, to offer himself; but, they 
were attacked by night by the' friends of the two tyrants, and 
narrowly escaped assassination; so that Pompey and Crassus 
were elected without farther opposition. And, Cicero gave 
his countenance to these proceedings; and, in a letter to a 
friend, again exposes the baseness of his own conduct. His 
vanity was deeply wounded by, what he calls, the jealousy of 
the Catonian party. " I will own, that their malice has almost 
driven me from those principles, which I have so long and so 
invariably pursued. At least, if they have not driven me so 
far, as to make me forget the dignity of my character, they 
have taught me, that it is high time I should act with a view 

23* 



270 HISTORICAL READER. 

to my own safety. Gratitude and prudence have determined 
me to join in their interest, (that of Csesar, Pompey, and 
Crassus.) You are sensible, how difficult it is to renounce 
our old and habitual notions of politics, especially under a 
firm persuasion of their rectitude." 

The vanity of Cicero was gratified to the utmost by being 
admitted into the private counsels of the consuls; and he 
writes to the pro-consul Lentulus, relating to the affairs of the 
king of Egypt, whose dominions the Romans were now covet- 
ing, as if he and the triumviri were the legally constituted 
sovereigns, of the Commonwealth. The authorities of the 
State had absolutely forbidden any interference at this time 
in the politics of Egypt; but, Cicero, in defiance of all law 
and government, gives advice in direct opposition to the de- 
termination of the Senate, which he terms the warm dictates 
of an exasperated faction, and says,"" If you are well satisfied 
of being able to make yourself master of that kingdom, we 
(Cicero, Pompey, and Crassus) are clearly of opinion, that 
you should not delay your march one moment. The world 
will be determined in their opinion of this whole transaction, 
not as it is reasonable, but as it shall be successful. These 
are our concurrent sentiments." And this philosopher, (who, 
in his works on Ethics writes so elegantly, and with such 
apparent conviction of the surpassing beauty of Virtue,) con- 
cludes his Machiavelian epistle with suggesting, "as a useful 
caution, that both of them should endeavor to preserve a 
proper poise between their interest and their honor, and not to 
advance one by an undue depression of the other; a maxim 
which I have learnt not so much from my favorite philosophy, 
as from sad experience." Many of the letters of Cicero, if 
placed in juxtaposition with his Work De Officiis, (on moral 
duties,) would form a striking, but melancholy contrast: he 
writes of beauty, and illustrates it by deformity. 

At this time, Pompey attempted by illegal means to deprive 
Cato of the preetorship. To secure his competitors from im- 
peachments for bribery, he induced or compelled the Senate 
to decree, that the new prcetors should enter on their office 
immediately after the votes were given. (An interval of sixty 
days was by law allowed for examining whether bribery had 
been practised in the election, and for prosecuting the guilty.) 
But the first century having given their votes for Cato, 
Pompey broke up the assembly, on the pretence that he saw 
something inauspicious in the heavens. In the election for 
sediles, the contention was so fierce that lives were lost, and 



HISTORICAL READER. 271 

Pompey's robe was stained with the blood of some one slain 
near him. The consuls having drawn lots for the provinces, 
Crassus obtained Syria, and Pompey, Spain. The latter, 
contrary to all precedent, governed his province by lieutenants 
for six years, and remained himself all the time in Rome. 
Crassus, highly elated with the prospect of the immense trea- 
sures which bis Eastern province promised, proceeded, imme- 
diately, to take possession. He acted the part of a publican 
rather than of a general, carefully examined the revenues of 
the province, and used every method of exaction to enrich 
himself. He plundered the temple of Jerusalem; and is said 
to have taken from it 10,000 talents. He then crossed the 
Euphrates, and hastened to make himself master of Parthia* 
He was met in a large plain by the Parthians, and a battle 
was fought, in which the Romans were completely defeated ; 
20,000 were killed, and 10,000 were taken prisoners. The 
darkness of the night favored the escape of the rest; but 
Crassus, forced by the mutiny and turbulence of his sohfers, 
and the treachery of bis guides, trusted himself to the general 
of the enemy, and was put to death. His head was brought 
to Orodes, king of Parthia, when sitting at a nuptial feast; and 
the barbarians amused themselves with the ghastly object, and 
poured melted gold into the mouth of him, who was lately the 
richest man in the Roman Commonwealth, and the arbiter of 
the fortune and lives of millions of his fellow creatures* 
B. C. 52. 

Cicero was now in active correspondence with Csesan, and 
refused to become one of Pompey's lieutenants in Spain, after 
he had consented to accept the office. The design of Ceesar 
was to use Cicero as a spy and check upon Pompey. The 
union between the two great generals, that had been for a 
time cemented by family alliance, was now relaxed by the 
death of Julia; and the jealousy of Csesar was much excited 
by the rumor, that there was an intention to make Pompey 
Dictator. Cicero says, it is difficult! to say whether Pompey 
really desires it or not. Cicero was placed in a great strait. 
He was anxious to keep on terms of friendship with the two 
greatest men of the Roman Commonwealth, both of whom 
were evidently aiming at sovereign power. 

The dreadfully turbulent and seditious state of Rome at this 
time, appears from the bloody encounter between. the parfoizans 
of Milo and Clodius. The latter was killed, and the next day, 
the mob carried the naked body into the Forum, and after- 
wards into the Senate-house, where they tore up the benches 



272 HISTORICAL READER. 

and tables, prepared a funeral pile in the building, and burnt 
the house itself. The Senate, to save the city from this state 
of wild confusion, elected Pompey sole consul, even with the 
approbation of Cato, who declared, that any government was 
preferable to anarchy, and that he thought no man better 
qualified than Pompey to hold the reins of government in a 
time of so great disorder. But he replied to Pompey, who 
warmly expressed his gratitude. " You owe me no thanks * 
what I said in the Senate was with a view to serve the Com- 
monwealth, not to serve you ; if )'ou consult me in private, I 
will freely give you my advice,- and in public, I shall always 
speak my opinion, though you should not ask it." 

Cicero, after a very eloquent, but unsuccessful speech In 
defence of Milo, undertook the government of Cilicia, where 
he distinguished himself by the zealous and upright discharge 
of his civil duties, and obtained great praise for his generalship, 
for which he expected the honor of a thanksgiving; and his 
vanity even entertained hopes of a triumph. The private letter, 
which he wrote to Cato on this occasion, admirably illustrates 
the besetting weakness of his character. Cicero had deeply 
studied human nature, and could penetrate far into the char- 
acters and designs of others; yet, on the subject of self-know- 
ledge, he displays the ignorance of a child. Cato would read 
with a smile of pity, if not of contempt, the following impor- 
tunate appeal for his friendly offices to support the purport of 
his application to the Senate: 

"To Marcus Cato: — The great authority you bear in the 
Republic, together with the high esteem I have ever entertained 
of your uncommon virtues, make me look upon it as a point 
of much consequence to me, that you should be apprized of 
the success of my arms; of the disinterested protection I have 
given to our allies: and of the integrity of my administration 
in general. And I doubt not, when you shall be informed of 
these several articles, I shall find the less difficulty in persua- 
ding you to comply with the reqnest I am going to make." 
(After a detail of his campaign, he proceeds.) "And now, if 
a motion should be made in the Senate concerning the honors 
due to the success of my arms, I shall esteem it the highest 
glory to be supported in my pretensions by your suffrage. I 
am sensible it is usual for the gravest characters to request, as 
well as to be requested for favors of this nature, in the strong- 
est terms, but I persuade myself it will be more proper for me 
to remind, than to solicit you, in the present instance. You 
have frequently distinguished me, not only with your vote, but 



HISTORICAL READER. 273 

with your highest applause, both in the Senate, and in the 
assemblies of the people. And, believe me, I have ever thought 
there was so much weight and authority in ail you uttered, 
that a single word. of yours in my favor was the highest honor 
I couid possibly receive. I remember upon a certain occasion, 
when you refused to vote for a public thanksgiving, which was 
proposed in favor ofa very worthy and illustrious citizen, you 
told the Senate that you should willingly have given your suf- 
frage in support of the honor in question, had it been designed 
as a reward for any civil services which the consul had per- 
formed in Rome. Agreeably to. this maxim, you formerly 
concurred in voting that a public thanksgiving should be de- 
creed to me; not, indeed, for having advanced the glory of 
our country by my military achievements, (for that would 
have been a circumstance nothing uncommon,) but for having, 
in a most singular and unexampled manner, preserved the 
liberties of the whole Commonwealth, without drawing a 
sword. 

64 1 forbear to mention the generous share you have taken 
in all the envy, the difficulties, and dangers to which my life 
has been exposed ; and a far greater you were willing to have 
taken, if I could have been prevailed upon to have consented. 
I forbear to mention, likewise, that you considered my enemy 
as your own, and that, in order to give me a convincing proof 
of your great regard, you scrupled not to show. your approba- 
tion even qf his death, by defending Milo in the Senate. In 
return, (and I speak of it, not as a favor for which you are 
indebted to me, but as a tribute which I owed to truth,) I 
have been no silent admirer of your virtues; .for who, indeed, 
can suppress his applause of them? In all my speeches, both 
in the Forum and the Senate, as well as in several pieces I 
have published, either in our own language, or in Greek, 
I have ever represented your character; as superior, not only 
to the noblest amongst our contemporaries, but to the most 
celebrated in history. 

"After all you will wonder, perhaps, what should induce 
me to set so high a value upon these little transient honors of 
the Senate. I will acknowledge, then, the whole. truth, and 
lay open my heart before you with a freedom becoming that 
philosophy we cultivate, and that friendship we profess: a 
friendship delivered down to us from our parents, and improv- 
ed by many reciprocal good offices. 

"Let me previously observe > that if ever any man was a 
stranger to vain glory > and a desire of vulgar admiration^ 



274 HISTORICAL READER. 

it is myself; and this frame of mind, which I possess by 
temper, has been still strengthened (if I am not deceived) 
by reason and philosophy. As an evidence of this appeal to 
my consulate; in which, as in every other part of my life, 
though I pursued that conduct, I confess, whence true honors 
might be derived, yet I never thought they were of themselves 
an object worthy of my ambition. On the contrary, 1 refused 
the government of a very noble province; and, notwithstanding 
it was highly probable I might have obtained a triumph, yet I 
forbore to prosecute my pretensions of that kind. I forbore, 
too, the offering of myself as a candidate for the office of 
augur, though you are sensible, 1 dare say, that I might have 
succeeded without much difficulty. But [ will acknowledge, 
thac the injurious treatment which I afterwards suffered, though 
you always speak of it, indeed, as a circumstance which re- 
flects the highest honor on my character, and as a misfortune 
only to the republic, has rendered me desirous of receiving the 
most distinguished marks of my country's approbation. For 
this reason, I solicited the office of augur, which I had before 
declined : and, as little as I have once thought the military 
honors deserved my pursuit, I am now ambitious of that dis- 
tinction which the Senate usually confers on its successful 
generals. I will own I have some view, by this means, of 
healing the wounds of my former unmerited disgrace; and, 
therefore, though I just now declared that I would not press 
you upon this article, I recall my words, and most earnestly 
conjure your suffrage and assistance. I make this request, 
however, upon the supposition that what T have performed in 
this campaign shall not appear contemptible in your eye, but, 
on the contrary, far superior to the actions of many of those 
generals who have obtained the most glorious rewards from 
the Senate. 

" I have observed (and you are sensible I always listen with 
great attention whenever you deliver your opinions) that, as 
often as any question of this nature has come before the Senate, 
you were less inquisitive into the military than civil conduct 
of the pro-consul. It was the political ordinances he had 
established, and the moral qualities he had displayed, that 
seemed to have the principal weight in determining your 
vote. If you should examine my pretensions in this view, 
you will see that, with a weak and inconsiderable army, I 
found a strong resource against the danger of a very formi- 
dable invasion, in the lenity and justice of my government. 
By these aids I effected what I never could by the most 



HISTORICAL READER. 275 

powerful legions : I recovered the friendship of our alienated 
allies; firmly strengthened their allegiance to the republic; 
and conciliated their affections at a time when they were 
waiting the opportunity of some favorable conjuncture to 
desert us. 

"But perhaps I have expatiated farther upon this subject than 
is necessary; especially to you, before whom ail our allies in 
general are accustomed to lay their complaints. To them, 
therefore, I refer you for an account of the benefits they have 
received by my administiation. They will ail of them, as 
with one voice, I am persuaded, give you the most advanta- 
geous testimony in my favor, but particularly those illustrious 
clients of yours, the Cyprians and Cappadocians, to whom I 
may likewise add your great and royal friend, prince Dejota- 
rus. If thus to act is a merit of the most superior kind; if, in 
all ages, the number has been far less considerable of those 
who knew how to subdue their desires, than to vanquish their 
enemies; he that has given an instance of both, cannot, cer- . 
tainly, but be deemed in Cato's estimation, at least, to have 
strengthened his claim to the honors of his country, and to 
have improved the splendor of his' military achievements, by 
the more unusual Justre of his civil conduct. 

"Let me, in the last place, and as in diffidence of my own 
solicitations, call in Philosophy for my advocate, than which 
nothing has ever afforded me a more sensible satisfaction. 
The truth is, she is one of the noblest blessings that the gods 
have bestowed on man. At her shrine we have both of us, 
from our earliest years, paid our joint and equal adorations: 
and while she has been thought by some the companion only 
of indolent and secluded speculatists, we (and we alone I had 
almost said) have introduced her into the world of business, 
and familiarised her with the most active and important scenes. 
She, therefore, it. is that now solicits you in my behalf; and 
when Philosophy is the supplicant, Cato, surely, can never 
refuse. To say all in one word, be well assured, if I should 
prevail with you to concur in procuring a decree I so much 
wish to obtain, IshaM consider myself as wholly indebted for 
that honor to your authority and friendship. Farewell." 

Cato's reply became his character, but it highly displeased 
Cicero. " Cato," he says, "was shamefully malicious: he 
gave me what I did not ask, a character of integrity, justice, 
and clemency, but he denied me what I did. Yet this same 
man voted a supplication for twenty days to Bibulus : pardon 
me if I cannot bear this usage." 



276 HISTORICAL READER. 

Eight years successively had Caesar been engaged in Gaul 
in combating the most warlike of the opponents of Rome. 
He now solicited to obtain the consulship. During his ab- 
sence Pompey obtained almost sovereign authority; and had 
been invested, on the motion of Cicero, With an absolute power 
for five years over all the public stores and corn rents of the 
Commonwealth, by which means all those who were concerned 
in the naval, commercial, and landed interest, became his tri- 
butaries and dependants* Another law gave him the addi- 
tional power of equipping any number of ships, and raising 
any troops, which he thought expedient. Pompey and Caesar, 
with dissembled friendship, had joined their interests against 
the chief of the nobility; and, by bribing and flattering the 
people, had obtained from them what the Senate would not 
grant. Now the whole power of the empire was regarded as 
a prize between the two; and they headed, respectively, two 
distinct parties in the Republic, the aristocracy and the people; 
Pompey became the supporter of the former, and Caesar of 
the latter. A coalition being being formed between Pompey 
and the patrician party, a resolution was formed to revoke 
Caesar's command before the time assigned him was expired ; 
but, it was a resolution which it was extremely difficult to 
effect. 

Cicero, in one of his letters, written at this time, says, "As 
to political affairs, I have often mentioned to you, that I 
imagined the public tranquillity could not possibly be pre- 
served beyond the present year: and the nearer we approach 
to those contentions, which must inevitably arise, the more 
evident this danger appears. For Pompey is determined most 
strenuously to oppose Caesar's being consul, unless he resigns 
his command: Caesar, on the contrary, is persuaded that he 
cannot be safe upon those terms. He has offered, however, 
to throw up his commission; provided Pompey will do the 
same. And thus their very suspicious friendship and alliance 
will probably end at last in an open war. For my own part, 
I shall be extremely perplexed in what manner to act in that 
conjuncture: and I doubt you will likewise find yourself under 
the same embarrassment. On the one hand, I have an in- 
terest and connexion with Pompey's party: and, on the other, 
it is Caesar's cause alone, and not his friends, that I dislike. 
You are sensible, I dare say, that so long as the dissensions 
of our country are confined within the limits of debate, we 
ought ever to join with the more righteous side: but that as 
soon as the sword is drawn, the strongest parly. is always the 



HISTORICAL READER. 277 

best. With respect to our present divisions, I foresee that the 
Senate, together with the whole order of judges, will declare 
in favor of Pompey; and that all those of desperate fortunes, or 
who are obnoxious to the laws, will list themselves under the 
banners of Caesar." 

24 



CHAPTER XXV. 



GAUL AND BRITAIN. 



B. C. 58-50. Gaul, exclusive of the Roman province, was, 
at the commencement of Caesar's expedition, divided into three 
principal parts, Aquitain, Celtic Gaul, and Beigic Gaul. 

Aquitain, the smallest of the three, was bounded on the 
north by the river Garonne, on the south by the Pyienees, 
on the west by the ocean, and on the east by the Roman 
province. 

The largest of the three, named Celtic Gaul, because in» 
habited by a people who called themselves CeJtoe, though by 
the Romans they were called Galli, (Gauls,) had for it* 
boundaries the ocean on the west, the Rhine on the east, 
the Garonne on the south, and the Seine and 3\1arne on the 
north. 

The two last-named rivers made the southern boundary of 
Beigic Gaul. On its other sides, it was encompassed by the 
British channel and the lower Rhine. 

The ancient history of the Gauls is enveloped in obscurity* 
The country, at different periods, seems to have become too 
populous to support the inhabitants, and hence they poured 
forth in vast multitudes, and subdued, and settled in other na* 
tions. They became terrible to ail the neighboring people. 
The earliest excursion of these warlike barbarians, of which 
we have any distinct account, was into Italy under a celebra- 
ted leader, Bellovesus, about 622 years before Christ. He 
crossed the Rhone and the Alps, defeated the Etrurians, and 
seized upon that part of the country, since known by the 
names of Piedmont and Lcmbardy* The second grand expe- 
dition was made by the Ceenomani, a people dwelling between 
the rivers Seine and Loire. They settled in those parts of 
Italy now known by the names Brexiano, Cremonese, Man- 
tuan, Carniola, and Venitian. In a third excursion, two other 
Gaulic nations settled on both sides the river Po ; and in a 



HISTORICAL READER. 279 

fourth, the Boii and Lingones settled in the country between 
Ravenna and Bologna. 

The fifth expedition of the Gauls, (the Senones,) was 
under Brennus, who were, eventually, defeated by Camillus. 
Soma other expeditions were undertaken against the Romans. 
Though the barbarians, in consequence of their want of mili- 
tary discipline, were always finally defeated when they fought 
with the Romans, yet their fierceness* and courage made them 
so formidable that, on the first news of their approach, extraor- 
dinary levies of troops were made, sacrifices and public 
supplications offered to the gods, and the law, which granted 
an immunity from military service to priests and old men, 
was, for the time, suspended. 

The Gauls having experienced their inferiority to the 
Romans, extended their ravages to the east. About 279 B. 
C, they sent out three grea! colonies, which entered Pannonia, 
(or Hungary,) Thrace, Iliyricum, and Macedonia, but they 
were generally defeated, and, after having endeavored to gain 
possession of Delphi, in order to plunder rhe temple, an im- 
mense body of these lawless plunderers was destroyed with 
great loss. 

The Gauls were anciently divided into many different 
nations, which were continually at war with each other, and 
at variance among themselves. Not only all their cities, 
cantons, and districts, but almost all families were torn and 
divided by factions, and thus they were with less difficulty 
subdued. Most of these States were under an aristocratic 
form of government ; but several were governed by kings, not 
hereditary and absolute, but elective, and of very limited 
authority. Some States, as the Helvetii, had so great an 
aversion to regal government, that death was the punishment 
of any individual aiming at sovereignty, and they burnt alive 
those convicted of this crime. 

Kings and magistrates were elected, laws made, important 
causes tried, in the great council of each nation, which met at 
stated times, and also on extraordinary occasions. When war 
was the subject of deliberation, all who had reached the age 
of puberty were obliged to assemble armed; and to enforce 
punctual attendance, he who came last was put to death, in 
sight of the multitude, with the greatest torture. 

There was a very numerous class among them, who were 
denied the rights and privileges of freemen, and though not 
actually slaves, they were not admitted into the public assem- 
blies. Many of them, oppressed by debt, by excessive tributes, 



280 HISTORICAL READER. 

or by the tyranny of the more powerful, were reduced almost 
to the state of bondsmen. 

The influential portion of the Gallic nation was divided 
into three classes, the Druids, the Equites, (or nobles, or knights) 
who fought on horseback ; and the Bards, or Poets. 

The Gauls were of large stature, and of fair complexion, 
with long and ruddy hair, (the color of which they heightened 
by a certain kind of wash) which they turned back over the 
crown of the head to the neck. They, and the European 
nations in general, wore no covering on their heads. They 
were fond of dress, and wore gold chains around their necks 
and on their arms ; and the magistrates, embroidered clothes of 
different colors. Their arms were a long sword, a spear or 
lance, with an iron point a foot and a half long ; a large shield, 
adorned by each with his proper device ; a brazen helmet; and 
some had an iron breastplate. They used a trumpet, that 
produced a dreadful sound, which, when on the point of 
engaging the enemy, they augmented by the war song, by 
bowlings, and by striking their shields. 

They were fierce and warlike, prompt to engage, but simple 
and void of all artifice, employing no means to ensure success 
but force and courage. Hence, they were frequently defeated 
by stratagems. Though arrogant when victorious, they were 
dejected. when defeated. They were fond of revolutions, and 
easily excited to war, but were much depressed under any 
reverse of fortune. Their disposition was very irascible, so 
that, when provoked, their fury was ungovernable. Their 
first onset was impetuous, but they could not sustain a long 
and steady resistance. 

They were accustomed to carry the heads of those whom 
they killed in battle, suspended from the necks of their horses, 
or fixed on lances, and set them on the gates of their cities. 
The skulls of the most distinguished leaders of the enemy, 
they adorned with gold, and used as cups. Livy says, "that 
the Gauls cut off the head of the Roman general, Postumius, 
and carried it in triumph into a temple, which they held in the 
highest reverence. Afterwards, emptying the head, as their 
custom is, they encased the skull with gold, and used it as a con- 
secrated vessel, out of which they made libations on high festivals; 
and as a cup to be drunk out of by the priests of the place." 

It was a custom peculiar to the Gauls, not to permit their 
sons to come into their presence in public, till they had reached 
the age of manhood, and were able to bear arms. In con- 
tracting marriage, the men added an equal sum to that which 






HISTORICAL READER. 281 

they received with their wives by way of portion, and the 
survivor enjoyed the whole. The men had the power of life 
and death over their wives, and also over their children. If 
any suspicion was entertained concerning the cause of the 
death of any person of rank, the wife was examined by the 
rack as a slave, and if convicted, was put to death by burning, 
and every kind of torture. 

The funerals of the Gauls were splendid and expensive, 
according to their rank and fortune. Every thing which was 
thought to have been agreeable to the deceased, was thrown 
into the funeral pile. A little before the time of Ccesar, such 
slaves a4id dependants, as were known to have been most 
beloved, were consumed with the corpse: favorite horses and 
other animals were also heaped upon the funeral pile. Letters 
addressed to departed relatives were thrown into the pile, that 
the deceased might deliver them. 

They were very fond of feasting, and eat and drank to 
excess. Their chief liquors were beer and wine. They 
devoured a great deal of flesh-meat, boiled, roasted, or 
broiled ; and held the piece in their hands, and tore it with 
their teeth. Sometimes, they made use of a little knife, 
which they wore at their girdles. When the company was 
numerous, the Coryphee, or chief of the feast, who was either 
one of the richest, noblest, or bravest, sat in the middle, with 
the master of the house by his side ; the rest took their places 
according to their rank, having their servants holding their 
shields behind them. Their feasts were frequently interrupted 
by violent disputes, when they challenged one another to single 
combat, which commonly terminated fatally to some of the 
parties. Music, songs, and dances formed part of the enter- 
tainments: the dancers were completely armed, and beat time 
on their shields with their swords. On certain festivals they 
were accustomed to dress themselves in the skins of beasts, 
and in that attire accompany the processions in honor of their 
deities or heroes. 

The great diversion of the Gauls was hunting; they had 
also their horse and chariot races, tilts and tournaments, at 
all of which their bards assisted with their poems, songs, 
and musical instruments* 

The Equites, or Knights, were all warriors, and were 
attended with several retainers, the number of which was 
regulated by their rank and fortune. Some of the noblemen 
had as many as 500 retainers, who devoted themselves to 
their lord. It was deemed disgraceful to survive him, if he 

24* 



282 HISTORICAL READER, 

was slain in the field of battle. Nor was there an instance, 
says Caesar, in the memory of man, of any one, who, upon 
the death of him to whom he had vowed fidelity, refused to 
submit to the same fate. 

When Caesar entered Gaul, a spirit of faction prevailed 
through the whole country. The iEdui were at the head of 
one faction, and the Scquani of the other; who, being inferior 
to the iEdui, sought aid from Ariovistus, king of the Ger- 
mans, by which means they, in their turn, became superior. 
Caesar having subdued the Helvetii, and defeated the Germans, 
restored the pre-eminence to the iEdui. Artfully employing 
their assistance, and that of the Rheni, whom he had likewise 
gained, he vanquished the other States, one after another; 
first, the Belgae, who were the bravest of the Gauls, particu- 
larly that tribe of them called the Bellovari; then the Veneti, 
a nation powerful by sea ; the Morini ; the Treviri ; and the 
Nervii. At last, a combination of the different States was 
formed, first by Ambiorix, king of the Eburones, and after- 
wards of almost all Gaul under Vercingetorix, a nobleman of 
the Arverni; but all their efforts were in vain against the 
discipline of the Roman armies, and all Gaul was reduced by 
Caesar to a Roman province. 

Jn the course of this war, Caesar, it is said, either took by 
force eight hundred towns, or made them yield to the terror 
of his arms; subdued three hundred different nations; defeated 
in battle three millions of men, of which more than one 
million were killed in the field, and another million made 
prisoners. 

The ninth and last year of his government was spent in 
peace. In his winter quarters in Belgium, he assiduously ex- 
erted himself to ingratiate himself with the Gauls, and deprive 
them of all pretence for revolt. He treated the several Stales 
with respect, imposed no new burdens upon them, and was 
extremely liberal to their chiefs. By these means he pre- 
vailed with them, wearied and exhausted by long and unsuc- 
cessful wars, to embrace the ease and quiet attendant on their 
present submission. 

Britain. — When the Romans invaded Britain, it was 
divided into a number of small independent States. The 
chief States were the Cantii, inhabiting Kent ; Trinobates, 
Middlesex; Belgae, or Regni, Hampshire, Wilt.- hi re, Somer- 
setshire; Durotriges, Dorsetshire; Damnonii, Devonshire, and 
Cornwall; At rebates, Berkshire; S:lures, South Wales; Ordo- 
vices, North Wales; Iceni, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, &c, 
Brigantes, Yorkshire; and several others. 



HISTORICAL READER. 283 

Britannia Barbara, called also Caledonia, was never subdued 
by the Romans; they did not penetrate farther than the Gram- 
pian mountains. It was inhabited by the Caledonians and 
Picts, so called because they painted their bodies. Scoti, 
Scots, are mentioned only by later writers, and are gene- 
rally supposed to have come from Ireland; but by some, they 
are reckoned a colony of Saxons. 

All ancient writers agree in representing the first inhabi- 
tants of Britain as a tribe of Gauls or CeltGe, who peopled 
that island from the neighboring continent. Their language 
was the same, their manners, their government, their super- 
stition ; varied only by those small differences, which time 
or a communication with the bordering nations must neces- 
sarily introduce. The inhabitants of Gaul, especially in those 
parts which lie contiguous to Italy, had acquired, from a 
commerce with their southern neighbors, some refinement in 
the arts, which gradually diffused themselves northwards, 
and spread but a very faint light over the island of Britain. 
The Greek and Roman navigators or merchants (lor there 
were scarcely any other travellers in those ages) brought 
back the most shocking accounts of the ferocity of the people, 
which they magnified, as usual, in order to excite the admira- 
tion of their countrymen. The south-east parts, however, of 
Britain, had already, before the age of Csesar, made the first 
and most requisite step towards a civil settlement; and the 
Britons, by tillage and agriculture, had there increased to a 
great multitude. The oiher inhabitants of the island still 
maintained themselves by pasture; they were clothed with 
the skins of beasts; they dwelt in huts, which they reared 
in forests and marshes, with which the country was covered; 
they shifted easily their habitations, when> actuated either by 
the hopes of plunder or the fear of an enemy. The conveni- 
ence of feeding their cattle was even a sufficient motive for 
removing their seats ; and as they were ignorant of all the 
refinements of life, their wants and iheir possessions were 
equally scanty and limited. 

Each State was governed by a king or chief magistrate, 
and under him by several chieftains, who ruled each his own 
tribe with a kind of subordinate authority. Csesar mentions 
four kings of the Cantii, or people of Kent ; their power, how- 
ever, was very limited. One of the chief parts of the regal 
office was to command in war; which these sovereigns always 
executed in person, whether they were kings or queens; for, 
in this respect, as in succeeding to the crown, there was no 
regard paid to distinction of sexes. 



284 HISTORICAL READER. 

The Britons were much more united with respect to religious 
than political matters. The constant jealousy and frequeDt 
hostility which subsisted between the different Stales, were very 
unfavorable to external defence. To this want of union, Tacitus 
ascribes their subjection to the Romans, who, according to their 
usual artifice, first formed alliances with some of the States, and 
employed their assistance to crush the rest; and then quarrelling 
with their allies, they reduced them also: which was the fate of 
all the allies of Rome. 

When Caesar invaded Britain, there was scarcely in the island 
any town or city. What was called a town was a number of 
huts irregularly disposed, at a small distance from one another, 
generally in the middle of a wood, to which all the avenues were 
slightly guarded with ramparts of earth, or with trees. 

The arms of the Britons were a sword, a short spear, and a 
shield. Their spear, being used often as a missile weapon, had 
a thong fixed to it for recovering it; and, at the butt endy there 
was a round ball of brass, filled with pieces of metal, to make a 
noise when engaged with cavalry. Some of them were armed 
with bows and arrows. They did not wear helmets, or use 
breast-plates; their only defensive armor being small light 
shields or targets. The principal strength of British forces 
consisted in infantry; although they had also a numerous 
cavalry. Some of the nations used chariots, that would con- 
tain many warriors, which were aimed with scythes at the 
wheels. These they managed with great dexterity. The 
chieftains held the reins, while their dependents fought from 
the chariot. 

The ancient Britons, excepting the Druids, were all trained 
to arms, and even their youthful diversions were of a martial 
kind. When a male child was born, the mother laid its first 
food upon her husband's sword, and with the point gently put 
it into the infant's mouth, praying to the gods of her country,, 
that its death might be in the midst of arms. 

The Britons were remarkable for their size, but they are said 
to have been clumsily formed. They had blue or azure colored 
eyes, and yellow hair; the hair of the Caledonians was red, like 
that of the Germans. They painted their bodies with woad, 
which gave them a bluish appearance. They wore their hair 
long, shaved their beards, but allowed the hair on the upper 
lip to grow. 

There was amongst them a community of wives. 

The Gauls and Britons were very superstitious, and the au- 
thority of their kings was greatly controlled by their priests, 






HISTORICAL READER. 285 

called Druids, from a Celtic word meaning oak; for, the Druids 
commonly resided in thick groves, chiefly composed of the 
oak. These priests were the first and most distinguished 
order among the Gauls and Britons; they were chosen out of 
the best families, and their birth, but more especially their 
functions, procured them the highest veneration among the 
people. They were versed in geometry, astrology, natural 
philosophy, and politics. Whoever refused obedience to them 
was declared impious and accursed. 

Their garments were remarkably long; and when employed 
in religious service, they always wore a white surplice. They 
generally carried a wand in their hands; and they wore a kind 
of ornament, encased with gold, about their necks, called the 
Druid's egg. Their necks were likewise decorated with gold 
chains, and their hands and arms with bracelets: they wore 
their hair very short, but their beards were never cut. In 
each nation there was an Arch-Druid, who possessed supreme 
authority over the whole order of the priesthood. He was 
generally chosen by the suffrages of the rest. It was an office 
of so great dignity, that the appointment to it was sometimes 
determined by arms. The British Druids had by some means 
acquired a superior reputation ; and Caesar supposes the insti- 
tution came originally from Britain, because those who were 
desirous of being perfect in the system travelled thither for 
instruction; but Pliny imagines, that Druidism passed from 
Gaul to Britain. 

The Druids kept some of their opinions secret, and taught 
others publicly. They taught their pupils a great number of 
verses, and some of them spent twenty years in learning them. 
They thought it unlawful to commit their tenets to writing; 
although in their public transactions, and in their private 
affairs, they used the Greek letters. Whatever opinions they 
entertained in private, they worshipped many deities. The 
names of their two chief divinities were Teutates and Hesus. 
Cresar says, Mercury is the chief deity, of whom they have 
many images, and account him the inventor of all arts, their 
guide and conductor in their journeyings, and patron of mer- 
chandise and gain. And next to him are Apollo and Mars, 
Jupiter and Minerva. Their notions in respect to them are 
much the same as other nations. 

In threatening distempers and the imminent dangers of war, 
tbey make no scruple, adds Cresar, to sacrifice men, or engage 
themselves by vow to such sacrifices, in which they make use 
of the ministry of the Druids: for it is a prevalent opinion 



t8Q HISTORICAL HEADER. 

among them, that the life of one man cannot be ransomed but 
by the life of another, insomuch that they have established 
public sacrifices of this kind. Some prepare huge images of 
osier twigs, into which they put men alive, and fhen burn them 
to death. They prefer fur victims such as have been convicted 
of theft, robbery, or other crimes, believing that such criminals 
are the most acceptable to the gods: but when they cannot 
obtain a sufficient number of the violators of the law, they 
select innocent men for the purpose. When they prove victo- 
rious they rear an immense pile, consisting of the cattle which 
they have taken, and other kinds of plunder, and burn it as an 
acceptable offering to their gods. 

The Druids performed all their acts of worship in the open 
air, for they thought it derogated from the greatness of their 
gods, to confine them within walls. Several circles of stones 
are to be seen in different parts of Britain, and the Western 
Isles, which ^re supposed to have been Druidical temples. 

In what Celtic nation (not only the Scythians and Panno- 
nians, but also the ancient inhabitants of Germany, Britain, 
Gaul, and Spain, come under the general denomination of 
Celts) this order was first instituted is uncertain; but, there 
can be no doubt, that before the time of Julius Cassar, it was 
generally established in Britain, Gaul, and Germany. The 
Druids not only presided in religious concerns, hut had the 
education of youth, decided all controversies public and private, 
pronounced sentence, decreed rewards or punishments; and 
if any one, whether in a public or a private station, refused to 
submit to their decrees, they interdicted him the sacrifices. 
They had great power in the state, and supported their influ* 
ence and authority by the aid of their dreadful superstition. 
They were divided into three classes; the Bards, who celebrated 
the praises of eminent men in songs, accompanied with the 
lyre; the Eubages, who performed the rites of religion and 
divination; and the Druids, in the more limited sense of the 
appellation, who had in their hands the direction of public 
affairs, the administration of justice, and the education of 
youth. They clothed their dogmas in an allegorical dress, 
and delivered them in verse, that they might be more easily 
remembered. They instructed their disciples in retired goves, 
or in caverns, and forbade them, under the severest penalties, 
to divulge the secret doctrines which thev were taught, or to 
commit them to writing. None but priests were permitted to 
chastise delinquents. It is probable that the Celts and Sarma- 
tians in Europe, and the Medes and Persians in Asia, were 






HISTORICAL READER. 287 

derived from one common stock, the Asiatic Scythians. The 
same religious tenets, which the Persians had received from 
the Scythians, were probably also embraced by the Celts, and 
by them transmitted, in their migrations, through Germany, 
Gaul, and Spain. 

The savage manner in which the Cimbrian women performed 
their divinations is thus described by Strabo : tk The women 
who follow theCimbri (a people of Germany) to war, are accom- 
panied by grey-haired prophetesses in while vestments, with 
canvass mantles fastened by clasp?, a brazen girdle, and naked 
feet. These go with drawn swords through the camp, and stri- 
king down the prisoners they meet, drag them to a brazen kettle. 
This has a kind of stage above it, on which the priestess ascend- 
ing,cuts the throats of the victims; and from the manner in which 
the blood flows into the vessel, she judges of the future event. 
Others tear open the bodies of the captives thus butchered, and 
from inspection of the entrails presage victory to their own 
party. 5 ' 

From the Edda (an ancient book compiled from records or 
traditions, by an Icelander in the twelfth century) it appears, 
that the Northern nations had an idea of an eternal Deity, 
prior to the formatien of the material world, and that by his 
energy on the chaotic mass, which they call the Deep, the 
sun, moon, and stars, and all other material bodies were pro- 
duced. They al>o conceived of the human soul as of divine 
origin, rational and immortal. Their contempt of death seems 
to have originated from an expectation of immortality. Ac- 
cording to Caesar and Diodorus Siculus, they thought that the 
soul at death, passes from one body to another. But, the 
mythological language of the ancient Edda every where repre- 
sents the future life, as an assembly of good or bad men, in a 
state of reward or punishment, and only speaks of a return to 
life for the purpose of reuniting the aoul and body, after the 
60ul has passed through a necessary course of purification, 
previous to its admission into the regions of the happy. But, 
to those brave spirits who died in battle, the gates of the palace 
of Odin were immediately opened, and they were to live in his 
hall in the full enjoyment of every thing which had delighted 
them on earth. They who had been guilty of great crimes were 
to be consigned to Hela, where they were to remain in punish- 
ment till the twilight l of the gods, a term by which is denoted a 
general restitution of all things, when, after the burning of the 
world, a new period of existence would commence. 



288 HISTORICAL READER. 

If the Druids practised medicine, it was rather as an instru- 
ment of superstition, than as an art founded upon science, as 
sufficiently appears from the wonderful powers which they 
ascribed to the mistletoe. 

Tacitus observes that Caesar rather discovered than con* 
quered Britain. Caesar, having received intelligence, perhaps 
not well authenticated, but easily credited, that in all his wars 
with the Gauls, they had received assistance from Britain, 
resolved to attempt the conquest of the island. Of his intention 
the inhabitants were apprized; and when he reached the coast, 
the cliffs were covered with armed men, ready to oppose his 
landing. After considerable delay, Csesar, at length, brought 
his bahstae into action, and by sending forth showers of darts, 
he drove the enemy to some distance from the shore. The 
Roman soldiers demurring to leap into the sea, one of the 
standard-bearers cried out aloud, "Follow me, fellow soldiers, 
unless you wiil betray the Roman eagle into the hands of the 
enemy; for my part I am resolved to discharge my duty to 
Caesar and the Commonwealth." Instantly he jumped into 
the sea, advanced with the eagle, and was followed by all 
that were in the vessel. This example was followed by the 
rest. 

After some resistance, he landed, as is supposed, at Deal; 
and having obtained several advantages over the Britons, and 
obliged them to promise hostages for their future obedie:>ce, he 
was constrained by the necessity of his affairs, and the approach 
of winter, to withdraw his forces into Gaul. The Britons, 
relieved from the terror of his arms, neglected the performance 
of their stipulations; and the haughty conqueror resolved next 
summer to chastise them for this breach of treaty. He landed 
with a greater force; and though he found a more regular 
resistance from the Britons, who had united under Cassibelau- 
nus, one of their petty princes, he discomfitted them in every 
action. He advanced into the country ; passed the Thames 
in the face of the enemy ; took and burned the capital of Cassi- 
belaunus; established his ally, Mandubratius, in the sovereignty 
of the Tr-inobantes; and ha vino; obliged the inhabitants to make 
new submissions, he again returned with his army into Gaul, 
and left the authority of the Romans more nominal than real 
in the island. 

He did no more, says Tacitus, than show the island to 
posterity. Rome could not boast of a conquest. The civil 
wars broke out soon after, and, in that scene of distraction, 
when the swords of the leading men were drawn against their 



HISTORICAL READER. 289 

country, it was natural to lose sight of Britain. During the 
peace that followed, the same neglect continued. Augustus 
called it the wisdom of his counsels, and Tiberius made it a 
Tule of Slate policy. That Caligula meditated an invasion of 
Britain is a fact well known; but, the expedition, like his mighty 
preparations against Germany, was rendered abortive by the 
capricious temper of ihe man, resolving always without con- 
sideration, and repenting without experiment. The grand 
enterprise was reserved for the emperor Claudius, who trans- 
ported into Britain an army composed of regular legions, 
besides a large body of auxiliaries. 

25 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



THE CIVIL WARS. 



B. C. 48. Csesar having ascertained that he would not be 
allowed to stand as a candidate for the consulship, whilst he 
retained his command in Gaul, wrote an indignant and mena- 
cing letter to the Senate L in which he stated that he was willing 
to resign his command, provided Pompey did the same, and 
that, as there could be no safety for him on any other terms, 
he would immediately, if this were not complied with, march 
into Italy, and revenge the injuries done both to himself and 
the liberties of the Commonwealth. This letter was received 
by the Senate with just indignation, and considered as an open 
declaration of war. Accordingly, they voted, that if Csesar 
did not resign his command, by a certain day, named in the 
decree for that purpose, he should be deemed an enemy to his 
country. This decree was protested against by Curio, (a young 
patrician, of great ability, but most depraved morals, who owed 
about twenty millions of dollars, and whom Csesar had bought) 
by Q. Cassius Longinus,and by Mark Antony, tribunes. The 
contest between the consuls and tribunes continued for several 
days, and at last, the Senate had recourse to the decree, which 
was issued only in cases of extreme danger, "That the consuls, 
prsetors, and tribunes of the people, and the pro-consuls near 
Rome, should take care, that the Commonwealth received no 
detriment." Antony and Cassius left the city the same night, 
disguised like slaves, and went to Csesar, and inflamed the 
passions of the soldiers by an exaggerated statement of the 
treatment which they had received in vindicating the claims of 
their beloved general. "My friend Cresar," writes Cicero, 
'■ has the assurance, notwithstanding the express prohibition of 
the Senate, to continue at the head of his army, and in the 
government of his province. Never were our liberties in more 
imminent danger; as those who are disaffected to the Common- 
wealth, were never headed by a chief more capable, or better 
prepared to support them. We are raising forces with all 



HISTORICAL READER. 291 

possible diligence, under the authority, and with the assistance 
of Pompey, who now begins, somewhat too late, I fear, to be 
apprehensive of Caesar's power. In the mean time I act with 
great moderation ; and this conduct renders my influence with 
both parties so much the stronger." 

The consuls went to Pompey, and presenting him with a 
sword, said, "We require you to take upon you with this, the 
defence of the Republic, and the command of her troops." 
Pompey accepted the office. The province of Caesar was 
given to Domitius. Pompey had boasted, " that he needed 
but to stamp with his foot, and an army would start out of the 
ground;" but he had not duly considered the seditious state of 
Italy, and the great popularity of Caesar. Caesar, expeditious 
in all his movements, (one great cause of his succes,) proceeded 
to the Rubicon, a river which parted Cisalpine Gaul from 
Italy. There was a law which forbade the commander of 
Gaul, under penalty of treason, to pass the Rubicon with his 
army homeward, without express authority from the State. 

Plutarch says, "When he arrived at the banks of the 
Rubicon, staggered by the greatness of his attempt, he stopped 
to weigh with himself the dangers of his enterprise; and, as he 
stood revolving in silence the arguments on both sides, he 
many times changed his opinion. After which he deliberated 
upon it with such of his friends as were near him, enumerating 
the calamities which the passage of that river would bring 
upon the world, and the reflections that might be made upon 
it by posterity. At last, upon some sudden impulse, bidding 
adieu to his reasonings, and plunging into the abyss of futu- 
rity, in the words of those who embark in doubtful and arduous 
enterprises, he cried out, 'The die is cast! ' and immediately 
plunged into the river. He travelled so fast the rest of the 
way, that he reached Arimium before day-light, and took the 
town." 

The activity of Caesar struck the opposite party with the 
greatest terror. Pompey left Rome, and retired to Brundu- 
sium. Cicero says, "All the worthier part of the Republic 
have withdrawn from the city." Pompey was besieged, and 
was obliged to leave the town. He embarked with all his 
troops, and proceeded to Dyrrhachium, a city of Macedonia. 
Caesar hastened to Rome, and in sixty days all Italy acknow- 
ledged his power. Pompey had unaccountably left Rome 
without removing the treasures, which were kept in the temple 
of Saturn. Caesar seized, it is said, 300,000 pounds weight of 
gold, and with this immense sum, he raised troops all over 



292 HISTORICAL READER. 

Italy, and sent governors into all the provinces subject to the 
Republic. 

A little before Pompey shut himself up in Brundusium, 
Cicero, in the midst of the horrors of this civil war, thus 
writes to one of his friends: "Was there ever a more absurd 
mortal than your friend Pompey, to act in so trifling a manner, 
after having raised such terrible commotions? Let me ask, 
on the other hand, whether you ever heard or read of a gene- 
ral, more undaunted in action, or more generous in victory, 
than our illustrious Caesar? Look upon his troops, my friend, 
and tell me whether one would not imagine by the gaiety of 
their countenances, that instead of having fought their way 
through the severest climates, in the most inclement reason, 
they had been regaling themselves in all the delicacies of ease 
and plenty. And now, will you not think that I am immode- 
rately elafed? The truth of it is, if you knew the disquietude 
of my heart, you would lau.«;*h at me for thus glorying in 
advantages in which I have no share. But I cannot explain 
this to you till we meet. For it was Caesar's intention to order 
me to Rome, as soon as he should have driven Pompey out of 
Italy; and this I imagine he has already effected, unless the 
iatter should choose to suffer a blockade in Brundusium." 

In another letter, he writes, "The flames of war, you see, 
have spread themselves through the whole Roman dominions, 
and all the world have taken up arms under our respective 
chiefs. Rome, in the mean time, destitute of all rule or 
magistracy, of all justice or control, is wretchedly abandoned 
to the dreadful inroads of rapine and devastation. In this 
general anarchy and confusion, Iknow not what to expect: I 
scarcely know even what to wish." 

Cicero had an interview with Caesar at this time, on the 
return of the latter from Brundusium, after Pompey had fled 
into Greece. Caesar endeavored to persuade Cicero to return 
to Rome, and take his seat in the Senate; but Cicero, with a 
degree of independence which he seldom exhibited, declared 
that he must insist on being at full libeity to deliver his senti- 
ments, with respect to Caesar's intended project of carrying 
the war into Spain, of which he entirely disapproved, being 
altogether in favor of peace. But Caesar would not consent to 
these terms, and recommending Cicero to think beuer of the 
matter, the con r erence ended, very little, he says, to the satis- 
faction of Caesar, and very much to my own. Cicero's son- 
in-law, Dolabella, had joined Caesar's party; and his interest, 
the orator might think, would be a security for him with one 



HISTORICAL READER. 293 

party, whilst by remaining neutral, he would not irreconcilably 
offend the other. 

Csesar hastened to Spain, where Pompey's interest was very 
great, and met with some reverses, by which his opponents at 
Rome were elevated with ardent hopes of success. Many 
Senators, who had remained neutra!, now hastened to Pom- 
pey's camp in Greece, imagining that Csesar was reduced to 
the last extremity; and amongst these was Cicero, \vh'Q.«was 
received with great marks of joy and iriendship. But the 
triumph of Pompey's party was transient. Ceesar's good for- 
tune and good conduct delivered him out of all his difficulties, 
and Spain was, in a short time, reduced to submit to his 
authority. 

Marcus Lepidus, to whose care, as preetor, Caesar had com- 
mitted the government of the city in his absence, obtained, 
after the ieduct»on of Pompey's army in Spain, an ordinance 
of the people for creating a dictator; and pursuant to it, he 
named Ccesar to that office. Csesar received the news of his 
election on his arrival at Marseilles, Which city, after a vigor- 
ous resistance, he compelled to open its gates. He spent the 
remainder of the year in Gaul and in the north of Italy, that 
he might strengthen his army. On -his arrival at Rome, he 
found the city in a very different state from that in which he 
had left it. Most of the magistrates and Senators had fled to 
Pompey. During the eleven days of his diclatorshipat Rome, 
he acted with great clemency and moderation ; and, by pre- 
senting a striking contrast to the conduct of Marius and Sylla, 
he rivetted the affections of the people, and gained the good 
will of many of the Senators. Cruelty and malignity, the 
darkest vices that enter the human mind, formed no part of 
his character. He recalled the exiles, and manifested a dispo- 
sition to pardon all who renounced their alliance with Pompey. 
He filled up the vacancies of the sacredotai college with his 
own friends, and got himself, and one of his most zealous par- 
tizans, elevated to the consulship. 

Having made, with great expedition, all the necessary 
preparations, he embarked for Greece. 

Pompey had for a whole year been assembling troops from 
all the eastern provinces. Greece, Asia Minor Palestine, and 
all the nations from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates, took, 
up arms in his favor. He had the flower of the young nobility 
in his army, and his legions consisted of veterans inured to 
dangers and the toils of war. As the most virtuous men in 
the Republic had taken refuge in his camp, he was generally 

25* 



294 HISTORICAL KEAl?EI? a 

regarded as the only hope arui support of pub!ie liberty. 
Among those who joined him was the celebrated Brutus? 
whose father had been put to death in Galatia by Pompey's 
order. Sacrificing his private resentment to his views of 
public interest, he entered the camp of Pompey, by whom he 
was received vvith great cordiality. 

As soon as Caesar landed, he marched directly to Oricum, 
the nearest city in Epirus, and it was taken without opposition. 
Apollonia opened its gates to receive him, and thus a way was 
opened to Dyrracchium, where Pompey had his magazines of 
arms and provisions. Csesar, however, became much embar- 
rassed at the news that the remainder of his army were 
prevented, by the success of Bibulus by sea, from leaving 
Brundusium, and he made proposals of an accommodation. 
These were rejected by Pompey. Antony, however, at last 
arrived with the legions, but Caesar's army were much dis- 
tressed for provisions. Pompey gained an advantage, and 
his rival's life was in great danger. But Csesarsoon retrieved 
his defeat, and marched into Macedon, in the hope of over- 
powering Scipio. 

At length, the two armies met on a large plain near the 
cities of Pharsalia and Thebes. The soldiers of each party 
having flung their javelins, had recourse to their swords. 
Csesar gained a complete victory, and the battle of Pharsalia 
finally decided the fate of the Roman Commonwealth, destroyed 
the expiring liberties of Rome, and gave the conqueror the 
empire of the world. He pardoned all those whom he had 
made prisoners, and he imitated the noble example of his de- 
feated opponent on a former occasion, by giving orders that all 
the letters which were found in Pompey : s tent should be burnt. 
"Although," says Seneca, " he was not disposed to revenge, 
yet he rather chose to put it out of his power to resent such 
injuries, and thought that the most obliging manner of par- 
doning was to be ignorant of the nature of the offence." To 
the Athenians, who sent deputies to him to solicit their pardon, 
he granted it, with this reproach, "How long, having merited 
death by your degeneracy, will you owe your safety to the 
glory of your ancestors." 

Cicero refused to accede to Cato's urgent request, that he 
would take upon himself the command of the remaining troops, 
and returned to Italy to await the clemency of the conqueror. 
Pompey, whose conduct on this occasion seems inexplicable, 
when he saw that all was lost, rode full speed to Larissa, and 
hastened on to Mytelene to his wife Cornelia. They set sail 



HISTORICAL READER. 295 

for Egypt to seek the protection of Ptolemy. The king's 
ministers gave a favorable answer to the deputation, and invi- 
ted Pompey to the court of the young prince, who was not yet 
of age; but dispatched, at the same time, Achillas, captain of 
the king's guards, and Septimius, a military tribune, with secret 
orders to assassinate him. They put off from the shore it) a 
small bark, with a few guards, and made towards Pompey's 
vessel. When on board, they accosted him with an air of 
frankness, and invited him into the boat. He embraced Cor- 
nelia, and ordered two centurions, one of his freedmen named 
Philip, and a slave, to enter the boat with him. Before he 
stepped into the boat, he turned to his wife and son, and re- 
peated these words from Sophocles: 

"Seek'st thou a tyrant's door? then farewell freedom! 
Though free as air before." 

During the passage to the shore no one showed him the 
least civility, or even spoke to him. But recognizing Sep- 
timius, he said to him, "I think I remember you to have been 
my fellow soldier." The barbarian, without uttering a word, 
merely moved his head. A profound silence again ensuing, 
Pompey looked over the speech which he had made to deliver 
before the king. Cornelia, from the shore, watched the pro- 
ceedings with intense anxiety. She was a little encouraged, 
when she saw a number of the king's officers coming down to 
the strand, in all appearance to receive her husband, and do 
him honor. But the moment Pompey was taking hold of 
Philip's hand to rise, Septimius came behind, and stabbed him 
in the back, and was immediately seconded by Achillas. 
Pompey took his robe in both hands, and covered his face, 
and without a struggle submitted to his ignominious fate. 
The murderers cut off his head, and left the body on the 
shore. His freedman Philip, while gathering some pieces of 
a broken boat for a funeral pile, was accosted by an old sol- 
dier, who had served under Pompey: " Who art thou," he 
asked, "that art making these sad preparations for Pompey 
the Great. Thou shalt not have all this honor to thyself: let 
me partake in an action so just and sacred. It will please me 
amid the miseries of my exile, to have touched the body, and 
assisted at the funeral, of the greatest and noblest soldier Rome 
ever produced." His ashes were carefully collected and car- 
ried to Cornelia, who deposited them in a vault in his Alban 
villa. 

A noble column was afterwards erected near the place where 



296 HISTORICAL READER. 

Pompey was murdered.. It has resisted the effacing fingers of 
time, and serves to admonish its admiring, beholders of the vain, 
transitory splendors of human ambition. The whole column 
• is 114 feet high. The shaft, composed of red granite, and 
upper member of the base, are one piece, and 90 feet long. 
The base which is a block of marble, is 60 feet in circumfer- 
ence. The capital, which is Corinthian, is nine feet high. 

Caesar, without loss of time, followed Pompey into Egypt, 
and was presented, by the king's order, with the head and 
ring of his late rival. He caused the head to be burned with 
the most costly perfumes, and placed the ashes in a small 
temple, which he dedicated to Nemesis. He undertook the 
.office of umpire in the quarrel between Ptolemy and his sister 
Cleopatra, which had broken out into open war. Cleopatra, 
who, by her father's will, shared jointly With her brother in the 
succession, aimed at a usurpation of the whole authority, 
Caesar embraced her cause after an interview, in which he 
was fascinated by her charms. But this enterprize was at- 
tended with great danger. He was for some time closely 
besieged, but was at last relieved from his mortifying situation 
by Mithridates Pergameus, one of his most faithful partizans; 
who collected a numerous army in Syria, marched into Egypt, 
took the city of Pelusium, repulsed the Egyptian army, and 
delivered Caesar from his perilous situation. Ptolemy, at- 
tempting to escape, was drowned; and Caesar, in fact, became 
master of all Egypt; though he appointed, that Cleopatra, with 
her younger brother, who was then an infant, should jointly 
govern. 

Caesar now yielded himself up in captivity to the beautiful 
queen of E^ypt. He abandoned himself to indulgence, and 
passed whole nights in splendid entertainments. He accom- 
panied her in a tour round the country. They went on board 
a barge most richly ornamented, and directed their course up 
the Nile, attended by 400 vessels. His intention was to ascend 
the river as far as Ethiopia, but his army, in general so sub- 
servient to all his schemes, blushed at the effeminacy of their 
general, and remonstrated so strongly, that a sense of shame, 
at length, restored to its usual ascendency over his mind the 
stronger passion of ambition. 

Breaking asunder the silken fetters of the enchantress, he 
girded on his armor, and proceeded to Pontus to reduce to sub- 
jection Pharnaces, who had taken the opportunity, afforded 
by the civil war, to assert his independence. Caesar's usual 
good fortune attended him, and a complete victory was gained. 






HISTORICAL READER. 297 

It was obtained with so much expedition, that he, in a letter 
to one of his friends at Rome, laconically describes it in these 
three words, " Veni, vidi, viei," (I came, I saw, 1 conqueied.) 

Without delay he hastened to Rome, where, during his 
absence, he had been created consul for five years, dictator 
for one year, and tribune of the peop e for life. The indolent 
and disorderly conduct of Antony had cau>ed many commo- 
tions, which it required the utmost prudence, circumspection, 
and ability to subdue. The energy, the vigilance, the mode- 
ration, and clemency of Caesar were exerted with astonishing 
success, and tranquillity was restored; and the city, so long 
distracted by sedition, and wild disorder, began to experience 
the blessings of repose. 

Cicero, it appears from his letters, experienced once more 
the clemency ol Caesar; and he was allowed, though he had 
acted with great duplicity, to follow, without molestation, his 
favorite studies. " Since rny return to Rome," he writes, "you 
must know i am reconciled to those old companions of mine, 
my books. Not. that I was estranged from them out of any 
disgust; but that I could not look upon them without some sort 
of shame. It seemed, indeed, that I had ill observed their 
precepts, when I was joined with perfidious associates in taking 
part in our public commotions. They are willing, however, to 
pardon my error, and invite me to renew my former acquaint- 
ance with them." 

i Caesar having, by gentle means, cemented his power at 
home, set saii for Africa, where Pompey's party had rallied 
under Scipio and Cato assisted by Juba, king of Mauritania. 
After many movements and skirmishes, he at last determined 
to come to a decisive battle. His enemies were completely 
defeated. Juba, and. Petrel us his general, killed each other in 
despair; and Scipio, attempting to escape into Spain, was taken 
and slain. 

Cato, in the mean time, was in Utica, the capital of the 
Roman province. The news of the battle of Thapsus.and the 
utter ruin ofScipio's and Juba's armies caused the greatest 
consternation He summoned his council of three hundred, 
consisting of senators, merchants, and bankers, and endeavored 
to animate the drooping spirits of his friends. "Rome," he 
said, " had often emerged out of greater difficulties: the con- 
queror was perplexed in many hazardous affairs: Spa in had 
revolted to Pompey's sons; and the Romans would unani- 
mously throw off a yoke which they wore with indignation.'' 



29S HISTORICAL READER. 

"While there is hope, do not distrust the gods; 
But wait at least 'till Caesar's near approach 
Force us to yield. 'Twill never be too late 
To sue for chains, and own a conqueror. 
Why should Rome fall a moment ere her time ? 
No, let us draw her term of freedom out 
In its full length, and spin it to the last, 
So shall we gain still one day's liberty; 
And let me perish, hut, in Cato's judgment 
A day, an hour of virtuous liberty, 
Is worth a whole eternity of bondage. 
Remember, O! my friends, the laws, the rights, 
The gen'rous plan of power deliver'd down, 
From age to age, by your renown'd forefathers, 
(So dearly bought, the price of so much blood) 
O! let it never perish in your hands! 
But piously transmit it to your children. 
Do thou, great Liberty, inspire our souls, 
And make our lives in thy possession happy, 
Or our deaths glorious in thy just defence. 
How beautiful is death when earn'd by Virtue ! 
Who would not be that man? What pity is it 
That we can die but once to serve our country, 
O liberty! O virtue! O my country!" 

Cato's eloquent patriotism had only a transient effect. 
Learning that Csesar was rapidly approaching, and that 
many of the inhabitants had determined to supplicate the 
mercy of the conqueror, his only care was now to hasten 
the departure of the Roman Senators; and calling the in- 
habitants together, he recommended them to provide for their 
common safety. 

"Farewell, my friends; if there be any of you 
Who dare not trust the victor's clemency, 
Know there are ships prepared by my command, 
(Their sails already opening to the winds) 
That shall convey you to the" wish'd for port. 
Is there aught else, my friends, I can do for you? 
The conqueror draws near. Once more farewell ! 
If e'er we meet hereafter, we shall meet 
In happier climes, and on a safer shore, 
Where Caesar never shall approach us more. 
There the brave youth, with love of virtue fired, 



HISTORICAL READER. 299 

Who greatly, in his country's cause, expired, 
Shall know the conquered. The firm patriot there, 
(Who made the welfare of mankind his care) 
Tho' still, by faction, vice, and fortune crost, 
Shall find the gen'rous labor was not lost." 

He was told by those who intended to remain, that he could 
be of no farther service; that they had resolved to intercede for 
mercy, but mere especially for himself. " For me," he said, 
" intercede not. It is for the conquered to turn suppliants, and 
for those who have done an injury to beg pardon. For my 
part, I have been unconquered through life, and superior in 
the thing I wished to be; for, in justice and honor, I am Caesar's 
superior. Ccesar is the vanquished, the falling man, being 
now clearly convicted of those designs against his country 
which he had long denied." Having affectionately counselled 
his son, and given good advice to his friends, he went to the 
bath, and afterwards to supper, in the midst of a large company. 
All his friends and the magistrates of Utica supped with him; 
during which many questions in philosophy were proposed and 
discussed, and Cato warmly defended the noble maxim of the 
Stoics and of Socrates, " That the good man only is a freeman, 
and that all bad men are slaves." From the tenor of his con- 
versation, his friends began to apprehend that he meditated self- 
destruction. But, he endeavored to remove their suspicions by 
talking of their present affairs, and expressing the deep interest 
which he felt in the welfare of the friends of liberty. Yet, the 
extraordinary ardor with which he embraced his son and his 
friends, renewed their apprehensions. He retired, and began 
to read Plato's book on the immortality of the soul. 

"It must be so — Plato, thou reason's! well — 

Else, whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire, 

This longing- after immortality ? 

Or, whence this secret dread, and inw T ard horror 

Of falling into nought? Why shrinks the soul 

Back on herself, and startles at destruction ? 

'Tis the Divinity, that stirs within us ; 

'Tis heaven itself, that points out an hereafter, 

And intimates eternity to man. 

Eternity! thou pleasing, dreadful thought! 

Through what variety of untried being, 

Through what new scenes and changes must we pass ! 

The wide, th' unbounded prospect lies before me ; 

But shadows, clouds, and darkness rest upon it. 



300 HISTORICVL READER. 

Here will I hold. If there's a power above us, 

(And that there is, all Nature cries aloud 

Through all her works,) he must delight in virtue ; 

And that which he delights in must be happy. 

But when, or where? This world was made for Caesar. 

I'm weary of conjectures — this must end 'em. 

Thus I am doubly arm'd — my death and life, 

My bane and antidote are both before me. 

This in a moment brings me to an end ; 

But this informs me 1 shall never die. 

The soul secur'd in her exist nee, smiles 

At the drawn dagger, and defies its point. 

The stars shall fade away, the sun himself 

Grow dim with a^e, and N.iture sink in years; 

But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, 

Unhurt amidst the war of elements, 

The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds." 

Cato, regarding the cause in w! ich he had ineffectually 
Struggled, as utterly hopde:*s, and thinking his services no 
longer of any avail, lei I upon his own sword. Cicero pro- 
nounced his death to be truly noble; and a chaiacter of splendor 
was stamped upon this method of dying, which it retained for 
several ages after. The lovers of liberty, for many ages after- 
wards, looked up to Cato as the most venerable martyr of the 
republican party. And under the emperors suicide seemed, for 
a long time, to be periectly fashionable. In the epistles of 
Pliny, we find an account of several persons who chose to die 
in this manner, rather from vanity and ostentation, it would 
seem, than from what would appear, even to a sober and 
judicious Stoic, any proper or necessary reason. The preva- 
lence of this fashion certainly occasioned many deaths, which 
would nor. otherwise have happened. 

The principle of suicide, the principle which would teach 
us, upon some occasions, to consider that violent action as an 
object of applause and approbation, is condemned by the 
dictates of reason, of morality, and religion. It is only a 
consciousness of our own weakness, of our own incapacity to 
support the calamity with proper manhood and firmness which 
can drive us to this resolution. The splendor of Cato's public 
character was shorn of its beams by the proud, but, at the 
same time, dastardly spirit, with which he ignominiously 
succumbed to the conqueror. He deserted, in the hour of its 
greatest need, the sacred post which bis country called upon 



HISTORICAL READER. 301 

him to defend to his last breath ; he threw up an important 
trust; and, like a coward, he abandoned himself to despair, 
and dreaded to encounter the perils, and undergo the exer- 
tions, and submit to the mortifications which were before him 
— trials of virtue, which many other patriots, who "held not 
their life at a pin's fee," nobly endured, till they were com- 
pletely driven out of the field, and deprived of every hope. 

Independently of all the awful considerations of religion, 
which must impress the mind of the Christian with a deep 
conviction of the impiety, the sinfulness, and the imprudence 
of suicide; the light of nature aggravates the heinous nature of 
the crime, by suggesting the duties that are deserted; the 
claims that are defrauded ; the loss, the affliction, the disgrace, 
which our death, or the manner of it, causes our family, kin- 
dred,, or friends; by the occasion we give to many to suspect 
the sincerity of our moral and religious professions, and, to- 
gether with ours, those of all others; by the reproach we 
draw upon our order, calling, or sect; in a word, by a great 
variety of evil consequences attending upon peculiar situations, 
with some or other of which every actual case of suicide is 
chargeable. 

From Utica, Csesar proceeded to Rome, where he was re- 
ceived with the loudest acclamations, and had more extravagant 
honors decreed him than were ever before given to any mortal. 
It was decreed that there should be feasts and rejoicings for 
forty days: that his chariot on his triumph should be drawn 
by four white horses, like those of Jupiter and the sun. He ■ 
was created dictator for ten years; he obtained the title of 
Magister Morum, (master of the morals;) he received the title 
of Father of his Country ; his statue was placed in the Capitol, 
opposite to that of Jupiter, with the globe of the earth under 
his feet, and with this inscription: w To Csesar, the demi- 
god." 

Cresar, hitherto, had found no leisure for the celebration of 
any of the triumphs, which it was usual to grant to the general 
who extended the dominion of Rome. But now, whilst he was 
settling the affairs of the empire, he indulged in the pageantry, 
which not only gratified his own vanity, but engrossed the 
minds of the servile and venal populace. In one month he 
enjoyed four triumphs. His first triumph was in celebration 
of his victories in Gaul; his second, over Ptolemy; his third, 
over Pharnaces; and his fourth over king Juba. The appa- 
ratus of each of these triumphs was different. The most 
splendid triumph was that over the Gauls, in which were 

26 



302 HISTORICAL READER. 

carried the Rhine and the Rhone, and the captive ocean repre- 
sented in gold. A multitude of prisoners preceded his chariot, 
among whom was the chief of confederate Gaul, who had been 
reserved upwards of six years, for this occasion. After the 
triumph, these were thrown into a dungeon, and put to death. 
Caesar ascended the Capitol by the light of lustres, and flam- 
beaus carried by forty elephants. In the triumph over Egypt, 
was represented the river Nile, and the Pharos on fire. The 
money carried in these triumphs amounted to 65,000 talents, 
and 2,822 crowns of gold. 

The triumphs were followed by rewards to his soldiers, and 
largesses to the citizens; and the whole body of the people 
was treated with the greatest profusion at 22,000 tables placed 
in the streets. To these expenses Cresar added spectacles of 
» all kinds. Several young men of the first families exhibited 
their servility and flattery by engaging in the chariot races. 
The Trojan game was acted by two companies of lesser and 
larger boys, children of the nobility. The hunting of wild 
beasts was represented for five days together; and, at last, a 
battle was fought by 500 foot, twenty elephants, and thirty 
horse on each side. Wrestlers performed for three days 
together. A lake was sunk, and the people were entertained 
with the representation of a sea-fight. 

Csesar, now at the summit of all earthly dignities, wanting 
only the title of king, (divine honors had already been decreed 
to him,) vigorously prosecuted the important work of consoli- 
dating his power. He added 300 new Senators, amongst 
whom were many Gauls and other foreigners; he advanced 
many persons of the meanest condition to the highest honors; 
he transferred 80,000 of the poorer citizens, into colonies be- 
yond the seas; he enacted that no freeman of the city should 
be allowed to leave Italy for a longer time than three years; 
he abolished all companies of artificers ; he laid duties on the 
importation of foreign commodities; he appointed commission- 
ers to inspect the markets ; he confined the use of coaches, 
jewels, and scarlet cloth to certain persons; and he sent officers 
into private houses to take away from the tables any prohibited 
-luxuries. He was indefatigable in attending to the administra- 
tion of justice, and enforced the laws against crimes by more 
severe punishments. 

Cicero, during these transactions, was living in peace at 
Rome, and says, " I receive so many marks of respect and 
esteem from those who are most in Csesar's favor, that I cannot 
but flatter myself they have a true regard for me. I am not 



HISTORICAL READER. 303 

sensible that I have any thing to fear from Caesar. His 
particular friends pass almost every day of their lives in my 
company. My little sallies of pleasantry are constantly 
transmitted to Caesar by his express directions. I have 
bidden a total farewell to all the cares of the patriot, and 
have joined the professed enemies of my former principles ; 
in short, I am become a professed Epicurean. I spend the 
first part of the morning in receiving the compliments of our 
dejected patriots and our gay victors. Caesar is continually 
giving proofs of greater moderation and generosity than we 
could once imagine he would have shown." 

Having established his authority at Rome, and conciliated 
by his clemency, many of his enemies, Caesar set out for 
Spain, where the sons of Pompey and Labienus, his former 
general, had raised an army in opposition to his authority. 
It was the policy of Pompey's sons to protract the war ; 
and the first operations were spent in sieges, and fruitless 
attempts to surprise each other. At length, Csesar, after 
taking many cities, compelled his enemy to come to a general 
battle on the plains of Munda. At first, the advantage was 
so greatly in favor of his enemies, that, it is said, Csesar was 
in suspense whether he should not follow the example of Cato. 
But, at length, roused from his despair, he quitted his horse, 
took up a buckler, and advanced before the first ranks, and 
within ten feet of the enemy, declaring he would not move 
from the spot. His example re-animated the courage of his 
soldiers ; and, after a desperately fought battle, Caesar entirely 
broke and discomfitted his opponents. Thirty thousand were 
killed on Pompey's side, among whom were Labienus and 
Varus, and' 3,000 Roman knights. Caesar, after this bloody 
battle, which was the last he fought, said, " that in his other 
battles he fought for victory, but in this for his life. 3 ' C. 
Pompey was soon after taken and slain; and the other brother 
subsequently engaged in various piratical enterprises. 

On his return to Rome, Caesar had another splendid triumph; 
but it is said that on this occasion the people were sullen and 
silent. The Senate, however, moulded by himself, were not 
wanting in flattery and servility. He was declared imperator 
or commander, (not in the ordinary sense of the word, as the 
chief commander of a host, but in the new and extraordinary 
sense of generalissimo of all the forces of the republic,) per- 
petual and sole Magister Morum, (master of manners,) with 
the management of the revenues : he was styled the father and 
deliverer of his country, and a temple was raised to Liberty! 



304 HISTORICAL READER. 

on the pretence that he had" emancipated the Roman people 
from tyranny; his person was declared sacred ; he was allowed 
the privilege of wearing constantly a crown of laurel, and on 
festival days, the triumphal robe; of having a distinct seat in 
all public shows, a golden chair in the Senate-house and the 
Forum, a statue in all the towns, and in all the temples of the 
city; two statues in the rostra; one statue in the temple of 
Quirinus, with this inscription : " To the invincible god;" and 
one in the Capitol with those of the ancient kings. He was 
allowed to hang up the opima spolia in the temple of Jupiter 
Feretrius; and, in the Circensian games, his image in ivory 
was ordered to be carried in a chariot in the same manner as 
the images of'the gods. He had a pulvinar, or bed of state, 
in the temples, on which his image was laid; temples were 
erected to him; he was called Jupiter Latialis ; and a new 
fraternity of Luperci (the most ancient and respectable of all 
the sacredotal offices) was instituted to his honor, and called 
by his name. 

Cicero was the first who proposed that the Senate should 
confer great honors on Caesar. Those who followed endea- 
vored to outvie each other in the base work of adulation, and 
in the profusion of honors, which they heaped upon him. It 
is said, that his enemies eagerly concurred in this extravagant 
and impious flattery, that they might raise him to an elevation 
which would expose him to the shafts of envy and jealousy, 
and make his fall certain and fatal. 

Ccesar, to show his confidence in Cicero, invited himself to 
spend a day with him at his house in the country. Cicero 
says, " O, this guest, whom 1 so much dreaded ! Yet I had 
no reason to repent of him, for he was pleased with his recep- 
tion. He took a walk on the shore; bathed after two; heard 
the verses on Mammurra, (a satire on one of Caesar's generals, 
who had raised an immense fortune, was notorious for his 
vices, and is said to have been the first man in Rome who 
incrusted his house with marble, and made all his pillars of 
solid marble,) at which he never changed countenance; was 
rubbed, anointed, and sat down to table. Having taken a 
vomit just before, he eat and drank freely, and was very cheer- 
ful. We had not a word on business, but on many points of 
literature: he was delighted with his entertainment, and passed 
the day agreeably." 

Caesar's friends urged him to have a guard, and many 
offered to serve in that capacity, but he would not suffer it ; 
for he said, " It was better to die onee, than to live always in 



HISTORICAL READER. 305 

fear of death." He endeavored to preserve his popularity by 
feasts and distributions of corn, and the attachment of his 
soldiers by placing them in agreeable colonies, of which Car- 
thage and Corinth were the most remarkable. His active 
mind, passionately fond of glory, and his insatiable ambition, 
urged him to greater enterprises, that he might surpass the 
splendor of all his former achievements. 

" A frame of adamant, a soul of fire, 

No dangers fright him, and no labors tire : 

O'er love, o'er fear, extends his wide domain, 

Unconquer'd lord of pleasure and of pain; 

No joys to him pacific sceptres yield, 

War sounds the trump, he rushes to the field ; 

Peace courts his hand, but spreads her charms in vain : 

4 Think nothing gain'd,' he cries, 4 till nought remain.' " 

He sent his legions before him into Macedonia, intending to 
chastise the Dacii, and ihen to execute summary vengeance 
on the Parthians, and afterwards to traverse Hyrcania, to enter 
Scythia, to carry his arms through Germany, and to return to 
Rome by Gaul. 

But the preparations for this grand expedition did not divert 
his attention from various magnificent designs for the real 
glory and prosperity of the empire. He undertook to rebuild 
and repair several towns in Italy, to drain the Pomptine marsh- 
es, which, even in the present day, render this part of Italy 
very unwholesome, to discharge the lake Fucinus; to dig a 
new bed for the Tiber from Rome to the sea; to form a capa- 
cious port at Ostia ; to make a causeway over the Appenine 
mountains from the Adriatic sea to Rome; to rebuild Corinth 
and Carthage; to cut through the Isthmus of Corinth ; to take 
an exact geographical map of the whole Roman empire. He 
also employed the learned Varro to collect a library of all the 
Greek and Latin authors, which he intended for the use ofthe 
public, and which was placed by Augustus in the temple of 
Apollo on mount Palatine; and he formed the design of abridg- 
ing the collection of Roman laws. 

But, the head of Caesar, at length, became giddy with all 
the titles, honors, and servile adulation which he received. As 
dictator, he was invested with supreme power, but his vain and 
insatiable ambition longed for the title of king — a name odious 
to the Senate and the people. And some of his creatures, act- 
ing in subservience to his insatiable ambition, gave out amongst 
the people, that it was written in the Sybilline books, "The 

26* 



306 HISTORICAL READER. 

Romans could never conquer the Parthians, except their armies 
were commanded by a king." As he was returning with the 
pomp of an ovation, amidst the acclamations of the people, he 
was saluted king by some in the crowd, and a royal diadem, 
with a crown of laurel, was fixed upon one of his statues. The 
multitude, however, not responding to these artifices to test 
public opinion, Caesar ungraciously said, " My name is Caesar, 
not king," and he passed on with an evident air of disappoint- 
ment. 

A few days after, his satellite, Antony, then consul, when 
Caesar, in his triumphal robe, was seated upon his golden chair 
in the rostra, observing the games, made him the offer of a 
royal diadem, and essayed several times to put it on his head. 
Only a few plaudits ensued, and from those who were sta- 
tioned there for the purpose. Caesar, aware of the sentiments 
of the people, refused it, on which occasion, the applause was 
loud and general. Antony tried the experiment again, and 
again the people indirectly manifested their disapprobation. 
At last, Caesar, with ill concealed mortification, declared that 
Jupiter was the only king of the Romans, and ordered the 
diadem to be consecrated in the Capitol. Antony, in prose- 
cution of his design, and with a gross perversion of facts, had 
it entered in the public acts, "That, by command of the people, 
as consul, he had offered the name of king to Caesar, perpetual 
dictator, and that Caesar would not accept it." 

Caesar's friends, determined to gratify his ambition, adorned 
his statues with royal diadems, but two of the tribunes of the 
people tore them off. The dictator, highly incensed, deposed 
and insulted them; and, betrayed by his all-grasping spirit, he, 
occasionally, let fall the mask of dissimulation, and "bestrode 
the world like a Colossus." He disdained to act in the capa- 
city of consul, but, arrogantly and ostentatiously displayed 
his dictatorial authority. Contrary to all custom, he appointed 
magistrates for several years; he gave ten praetors power to 
wear the consular ornaments; he appointed his own servants 
and officers to supervise the mint and revenue; he committed 
the three legions which he left in Alexandria to the command 
of one of the infamous ministers of his pleasure. 

Nor did his public expressions manifest less insolence and 
tyranny. He declared that the Commonwealth was only a 
word, without either body or soul ; and that hereafter he would 
be accosted with more reverence ; and that his words shouid 
be received as laws. 

But he gave great offence to many members of the Senate, 



HISTORICAL READER. 307 

and drew, says Suetonius, the greatest, and inextinguishable 
hatred on himself from the following circumstance: When 
the Senators came to him in a body, with most honorable 
decrees, he received them sitting before ihe temple of Venus. 
Some say he wonld have risen, but was held down ; but others 
affirm, that he had no intention to ofTer this mark of respect, 
and that, when it was intimated he ought to rise, he expressed 
his disapprobation by a withering frown. 

"But 'tis a common proof, 
That lowliness is young ambition's ladder, 
Where the climber upward turns his face : 
But when he once attains the upmost round, 
He then unto the ladder turns his back ; 
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees 
By which he did ascend." 

Many of the Senators, having ascertained the strong objec- 
tion of the people to a mere title, the name of king, and 
calculating on their support, entered into a conspiracy, and 
determined to assassinate the insolent dictator. Brutus and i 
Cassius were the leadeis of the plot, and, joined by sixty of 
their party, they determined to execute their purpose in the 
Senate-house. Csesar's death, we are told by the ancient 
historians, who delight in the marvellous, was intimated by 
various unpropitious omens. Strange noises were heard in 
various quarters by night ; solitary birds were seen in the 
Forum; men of fire were beheld encountering each other in the 
air; and one of the victims, which Caesar offered, was found 
without a heart; as he was in bed, the night before his death, 
the doors and windows of the room flew open at once; and his 
wife had alarming dreams ; and a certain soothsayer fore- 
warned him of a great danger which threatened him on the 
ides of March; and, to conclude the list of omens, Suetonius 
gravely relates, " that not many days before his death, the 
horses that passed with him over the Rubicon, and which he 
had consecrated, forebore to eat by common consent, and wept 
profusely." 

Csesar, it is said, at first, disregarded these presages, and 
probably expressed a- sentiment similar to that which he 
uttered when urged to have a body guard; and which the 
inimitable Shakspeare, true to nature, and to the manners 
and character of the persons whom he delineates, thus para- 
phrases : — 



308 HISTORICAL READER. 

" Cowards die many times before their deaths, 

The valiant never taste of death but once. 

Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, 

It seems to me most strange that men should fear ; 

Seeing that death, a necessary end, 

Will come, when it will come," 

But the importunity of his wife and some of his friends had, at 
length, prevailed upon him not to attend the Senate that day; 
when one of the conspirators came and brought him back to 
his first resolution. The whole plot, it appears, had been 
discovered, and a paper was put into his hands containing the 
particulars, as he was proceeding to the house; but Caesar 
handed it to one of his secretaries. As soon as he had taken 
his place in the Senate, the conspirators approached under the 
pretence of saluting him. At a signal agreed upon, Casca, 
who was behind, stabbed him in the shoulder; Caesar instantly 
turned round, and, with the style of his tablet, wounded him 
in the arm. The other conspirators rushing upon him with 
drawn daggers, he fell down at the base of Pompey's statue, 
and expired in the fifty sixth year of his age; and the fourth of 
his dictatorship. 

The expression, " Et tu Brute," said by some historians to 
have been uttered by him, did not point at Marcus Brutus, the 
leader of the republican party, whom Ceesar pardoned imme- 
diately after the battle of Pharsalia, but at Decimus Brutus, 
his relation, who had been on very confidential terms with 
Csesar, and was constituted by the dictator's will one of his 
heirs. 

Very different opinions have been, and are still entertained, 
respecting the merit or demerit of this assassination. Cicero, 
in strong terms, expresses his approbation of the act, and says, 
"he was present at the death of Caesar in the Senate, where 
he had the pleasure to see the tyrant perish as he deserved ; " 
and he regrets, in a letter to Cassius, " that he was not in their 
councils, and that had he been, he would have put it out of 
the power of Antony to perplex and embarrass their affairs." 
And again, "Oh, that you had invited me to that glorious feast 
you exhibited on the ides of March; I would have suffered 
none of it to have gone untouched," (alluding to his wish that 
Antony had also been killed.) The disposition of Cicero 
speaks for itself; his impotent feelings of malignity anj} base 
ingratitude can meet with no sympathy. But, in vindication 
of Brutus and the other conspirators, whose principles and 
conduct ought not to be tried by the spirit of that divine 



HISTORICAL REARER. 309 

religion which has humanized our feelings, and elevated the 
standard of morality, it may be urged, that it was a maxim of 
antiquity, that the guilt which the law could not reach, merited 
its punishment from the dagger; and that there was an ancient 
law subsisting, by which every one was authorized to lift up 
his sword against the man, who should discover any designs 
of invading public liberty. Brutus and Cassius adopted this 
maxim ; they knew no better, and acted according to the sense 
of duty which they derived from their laws and their phi- 
losophy. 

But that a Christian can vindicate assassination under any 
circumstances, is indeed astonishing. Yet, an amiable poet, 
in a work rich in beautiful moral sentiment, and glowing with 
the spirit of liberty, is inconsiderately led by a partial view of 
the subject to exclaim: 

" And speak, O, man! does this capacious scene 

With half that kindling majesty dilate 

Thy strong conception, as when Brutus rose 

Refulgent from the stroke of Csesar's fate 

Amid the crowd of patriots, and his arm 

Aloft extending, like eternal Jove, 

When guilt brings down the thunder, called aloud 

On Tully's name, and shook his crimson steel, 

And bade the father of his country, Hail ! 

For lo ! the tyrant prostrate in the dust ! 

And Rome again is free." 

Not only religion, and the emotions of humanity, but also 
the dictates of policy, concur to condemn the use of violent 
means in the most meritorious cause. The universal testimony 
of history teaches, that the cause of liberty has never been 
advanced by the pistol or dagger. 

The tyrant has indeed no particular sanctity annexed to his 
person, and may be killed with as little scruple as any other 
man, when the object is that of repelling personal assault. In 
all other cases, the extirpation of the offender by a self- 
appointed authority is not a desirable mode of counteracting 
injustice. 

Either the nation whose tyrant you would destroy is ripe 
for the assertion and maintenance of its liberty, or it is not. 
If it be, the tyrant ought to be deposed with every appearance 
of publicity. Nothing can be more improper, than for an 
affair, interesting to the general weal, to be conducted as if it 
were an act of darkness and of shame. It is an ill lesson we 



310 HISTORICAL READER. 

read to mankind, when a proceeding, built upon the broad 
basis of general justice, is permitted to shrink from public 
scrutiny. To proscribe all violence, and neglect no means of 
information and partiality, is the most effectual security we 
can have for an issue conformable to the voice of reason and 
truth. 

If, on the other hand, the nation be not ripe for a state of 
freedom the man who assumes to himself the right of interpo- 
sing violence, may indeed show the fervor of his conception, 
and gain a certain degree of notoriety ; but he will not fail to 
be the author of new calamities to his country. The conse- 
quences of tyrannicide are well known. If the attempt prove 
abortive, it renders the tyrant ten times more bloody, ferocious, 
and cruel than before. It it succeed, and the tyranny be re- 
stored, it-produces the same effect upon his successors. In the 
climate of despotism some solitary virtues may spring up. 
But in the midst of plots and conspiracies there is neither truth, 
nor confidence, nor love, nor humanity. 

The true merits of the question will be still farther under- 
stood, if we reflect on the nature of assassination. The mistake, 
which has been incurred upon this subject, is to be imputed 
principally to the superficial view that has been taken of it. 
If its advocates had followed the conspirator through all his 
windings, and observed his perpetual alarm lest truth should 
become known, they would probably have been less indiscrimi- 
nate in their applause. No action can be imagined, more 
directly at war with a principle of ingenuousness and candor. 
Like all that is most odious in the catalogue of vices, it delights 
in obscurity. It shrinks from the piercing light of day. It 
avoids all question, and hesitates and trembles before the 
questioner. It struggles for a tranquil gaiety, and is only 
complete where there is the most perfect hypocrisy. It chan- 
ges the use of speech, and composes every feature the better 
to deceive. 

"Between the acting of a dreadful thing 
And the first motion, all the interim " 

is mystery and reserve. Is it possible to believe that the 
person who has upon him all the indications of guilt, is enga- 
ged in an action which virtue enjoins? The same duplicity 
follows him to the last. Imagine to yourself the conspirators 
kneeling at the feet of Ccesar, as they did the moment they 
destroyed him 1 Not all the virtue of Brutus can save them 
from indignation. 



HISTORICAL READER. 311 

Where there is assassination, there is an end to all confidence 
among men. Protests and asservations go for nothing. No 
man presumes to know his neighbor's intention. The boun- 
daries, that have hitherto served to divide virtue and vice, are 
gone. The true interests of mankind require, not the removal, 
but the confirmation of these boundaries. All morality pro- 
ceeds upon mutual confidence and esteem, will grow and 
expand as the grounds of that confidence shall be more evi- 
dent, and must inevitably decay in proportion as they are 
undermined. 

Brutus, in a speech to the people, explained the motives of 
his conduct, and, in a pathetic manner, exhorted them to exert 
themselves in defence of their country, and maintain the liberty 
now offered to then), against all the abettors of the late tyranny. 
The speech, which Shakspeare attributes to him is, perhaps, as 
good an apology as can be made, and, doubtless, represents 
his sentiments as correctly, as the speeches, which the ancient 
historians have composed for the celebrated characters of their 
works, exhibits their opinions. 

" Romans, countrymen, and lovers ! hear me for my cause, 
and be silent, that you may hear. Believe me for mine honor, 
and have respect to mine honor, that you may believe. Cen- 
sure me in your wisdom, and awake your senses, that you 
may the better judge. If there be any in this assembly, any 
dear friend of Caesar's, to him I say, that Brutus' love to 
Caesar was no less than his. If, then, that friend demand, 
why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer : "Not 
that I loved Gfcesar less, but that I loved Rome more. Had 
you rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves: than that 
Caesar were dead, to live all freemen? As Caesar loved me, 
I weep for him ; as he was fortunate I rejoice at it; as he was 
valiant I honor him ; but as he was ambitious I slew him. 
There are tears for his love, joy for his fortune, honor for his 
valor, and death for his ambition. Who's here so base, that 
would be a bondman ? If any, speak ; for him have I offended. 
Who's here so rude, that would not be a Roman? If any, speak; 
for him have I offended. Who's here so vile, thai will not love 
his country? If any,.speak ; for him have I offended — I pause 
for a reply. 

" None? — then none have I offended. I have done no more 
to Caesar, than you should do to Brutus. The question of his 
death is enrolled in the Capitol: his glory not extenuated, 
wherein he was worthy; nor his offences enforced, for which 
he suffered death. 



312 HISTORICAL READER. 

"Here comes his body, mourned by Mark Antony; who, 
though he had no hand in his death, shall receive the benefit 
of his dying, a place in the Commonwealth ; as which of you 
shall not? With this I depart, that as I slew my best lover 
for the good of Rome, I have the same dagger for myself, 
when it shall please my country to need my death." 

Shakspeare has fallen into the common error of supposing 
that Marcus Brutus was the intimate friend of Caesar. 

Antony, on this occasion, acted with great dissimulation, and 
supped with Cassius; and Lepidus, who had the command of a 
legion in the suburbs, whilst meditating vengeance against the 
conspirators, spent an evening with Brutus. The calm was 
but of short duration, for Antony, who had awakened the 
passions of the people by reading Caesar's will, in which he 
had made liberal bequests to them, and who had laid out the 
body of Caesar in state, (it was placed in a little temple, all 
glittering with gold, on an ivory bed, covered with gold and 
purple cloth,) made an oration calculated and intended to in- 
flame their passions against the conspirators. We shall again 
have recourse to the poet of nature, whose persons, as one of 
his editors says, act and speak by the influence of those gene- 
ral passions and principles by which all minds are agitated, 
and the whole system of life is continued in motion, and who 
excels by accommodating his sentiments to real life. 

"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears: 

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. 

The evil that men do lives after them ; { 

The good is oft interred with their bones; 

So let it be with Caesar ! The noble Brutus 

Hath told you Caesar was ambitious : 

If it were so, it was a grievous fault.; 

And grievously hath Caesar answered it. 

Here, under leave of Brutus, and the rest, 

(For Brutus is an honorable man, 

So are they all, all honorable men,) 

Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral. 

He was my friend, faithful and just to me; 

But Brutus says, he was ambitious ; 

And Brutus is an honorable man. 

He hath brought many captives home to Rome, 

Whose ransoms did the gen'ral coffers fill; 

Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? 

When that the poor have cried, Csesar hath wept; 



HISTORICAL READER. 313 

Ambition should be made of sterner staff. 

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious ; 

And Brutus is an honorable man. 

You all did see that on the Lupercal, 

I thrice presented him a Hngly crown, 

Which he did thrice refuse. Was this Smbition ? 

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious ; 

And sure he is an honorable man. 

I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, 

But here I am (o speak what I do know. 

You all did love him once, not without cause; 

What cause withholds you then to mourn for him? 

O, judgment! thou ait fled to brutish beasts, 

And men have lost their reason; — bear with me; — 

My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, 

And I must pause till it come back to me, 

1 Pled. Methinks there is much reason in his sayings. 

2 Pleb. If thou consider rightly of the matter, 

Caesar ha3 had great wrong. 

3 Pleb. Has he masters? 

I fear there will a worse- come in his place. 

4 Pleb. Mark'd ye his words? He would not take the crown 

Therefore 'tis certain he was not ambitious. 

1 Pleb. If it be found so, some will dear abide it. 

2 Pleb. Poor soul! his eyes are red as fire with vreeping. 

3 Pleb. There's not a nobler man in Rome, than Antony. 

4 Pleb. Now mark him ; he begins again to speak. 
Ant. But yesterday the word of Csesar might 

Have stood against the world : now lies he there, 
And none so poor to do him reverence. 

masters ! if I were disposed to stir 
Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, 

1 should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong, 
Who, you all know, are honorable men. 

I will not do them wrong ; I rather choose 
To wrong the dead, to wrong myself, and you, 
Than I will wrong such honorable men. 
But here's a parchment with the seal of Csesar; 
I found it in his closet; 'tis his will. 
Let but the commons hear the testament, 
(Which, pardon me, I do not mean (o read,) 
And they would go and kiss dead Caesar's wounds, 
And dip their napkins in his sacred blood j 
27 



314 HISTORICAL READER. 

Yea, beg a hair of him for memory, 
And, dying, mention it within their wills, 
Bequeathing it, as a rich legacy, 
Unto their issue. 
4 Pleb. We'll hear tiie will : read it, Mark Antony. 
All. The will, the will ; we will hear Caesar's will. 
Ant. Have patience, gentle friends, I must not read it ; 
It is not meet you know how Caesar lov'd you. 
You are not wood, you are not stones, but men ; 
And, being men, hearing the will of Caesar, 
It will inflame you ; it will make you mad. 
'Tis good you know not that you are his heirs ; 
For if you should, O, what would come of it! 
4 Pleb. Read the will; we will hear it, Antony; 

You shall read us the will; Caesar's will. 
Ant. Will you be patient? Will you stay a while ? 
I have o'er-shot myself, to tell you of it. 
I fear I wrong the honorable men, 
Whose daggers have stabb'd Caesar: I do fear it. 
4 Pleb. They w r ere traitors : Honorable men ! 
All. The will! the testament! 

2 Pleb. They were villains, murderers: the will! read the will! 
Ant. You will compel me, then, to read the will ? — 
Then make a ring about the corpse of Caesar, 
And let me show you him that made the will. 
Shall I descend? And will you give me leave ? 
All. Come down. 
All. Stand back ! room ! bear back. 
Ant. If you have tears, prepare to shed them now. 
You all do know this mantle : I remember 
The first time ever Caesar put it on ; 
'Twas on a summer evening in his tent ; 
That day he overcame the Nervii: — 
Look! in this place, ran Cassius' dagger through : 
See what a rent the envious Casca made; 
Through this, the well-beloved Brutus stabb'd : 
And as he pluck'd his cursed steel away, 
Mark how the blood of Caesar follow'd it; 
As rushing out of doors to be resolv'd 
If Brutus so unkindly knock'd or no ; 
For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel : 
Judge, O, ye gods, how dearly Caesar lov'd him! 
This, this was the unkindest cut of all; 



HISTORICAL READER. 115 

For when the noble Caesar saw him stab, 

Ingratitude, more strong than traitor's arms, 

Quite vanquish'd him. Then burst his mighty heart; 

And in his mantle muffling up his face, 

Even at I he base of Pompey's statue, 

Which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell. 

O, what a fall was there, my countryme'n ! 

Then I, and you, and all of us fell down, 

Whilst bloody treason flourished over us. 

O, now you weep ; and I perceive you feel 

The dint of pity: these are gracious drops. 

Kind souls, what, weep you, when you but behold 

Our Caesar's vesture wounded? Look you here! 

Here is himself, marr'd, as you see, by traitors. 

1 Pleb. O piteous spectacle. 

2 Pleb. O noble Caesar. 

3 Pleb. O traitors, villains. 

2 Pleb. We will be reveng'd : Revenge : About — 
Seek — burn — fire — kill — slay; — let not a traitor live. 

Ant. Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up 
To such a sudden flood of mutiny. 
They that have done this deed are honorable ; 
What private griefs they have, alas ! I know not, 
That made them do it; they are wise, and honorable, 
And will, no doubt, with reasons answer you. 
I come not t friends, to steal away your hearts ; 
I am no orator as Brutus is : 
But as you know me all, a plain, blunt man, 
That love my friend : and that they know full well 
That gave me public leave to speak of him. 
For I have neither wit, nor n'ords, nor worth, 
Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech, 
To stir men's blood : I only speak right on : 
I tell you that which you yourselves do know: 
Show you sweet Caesar's wounds, poor, poor dumb mouths I 
And bid them speak for me: But were I Brutus, 
And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony 
Would ruffle up your spirits, and put a tongue 
In every wound cf Caesar, that should move 
The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny." 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

CIVIL WAR FROM THE DEATH OF CJESAR TO THE BATTLE OF 

ACTIUM — -BRUTUS, CASSIUS, ANTONY, LEPXDUS, OCTAV1US. 

Brutus was by birth, his alliances, his connexions, and his 
riches, at the head of the nobility; and he was reverenced 
during his life and after his death, for the gravity of his 
manners, his extensive learning, his eloquence, and capacity. 
" His mind," says Plutarch, " was steady, and not easily 
moved by entreaties. His principles were reason, and honor, 
and virtue; and the ends to which these directed him, ho 
prosecuted with so much vigor, that he seldom failed of 
success. No flattery could induce him to attend to unjust 
petitions ; and though that ductility of mind, which may b@ 
wrought upon by the impudence of importunity, is by some 
called good nature, he considered it as the greatest disgrace. 
He used to say, that he suspected those who could refuse no 
favors had not very honestly employed the season of their 
youth. It was universally said, that Brutus hated the imperial 
power, and that Cassius hated the emperor. 

"Brutus, on account of his virtue, was respected by the 
people, beloved by his friends, admired by men of principle, 
and not hated even by enemies. He was mild in his temper, 
and had a greatness of mind that was superior to anger, ava- 
rice, and the love of pleasure. He was firm and inflexible in 
his opinions, and zealous in every pursuit where justice or 
honor was concerned. The people had the highest opinion 
of his integrity and sincerity in every undertaking, and this 
naturally inspired them with confidence and affection. Even 
Pompey, the Great, had scarcely ever so much credit with 
them; for who ever imagined that if he had conquered Caesar, 
he would have submitted to the laws, and would not have 
retained his power under the title of consul or dictator, or 
some more specious and popular name? Cassius, a man of 
violent passions, and rapacious avarice, was suspected of ex- 
posing himself to toil and danger, rather from a thirst of 



HISTORICAL READER. 317 

power, than on attachment to the liberties of his country. 
The former disturbers of the Commonwealth, Cinna, and 
Marius, and Carbo, evidently set their country as a stake for 
the winner, and hardly scrupled to own that they fought for 
empire : but the very enemies of Brutus never charge him 
with this. Even Antony has been heard to say, that Brutus 
was the only conspirator, who had the sense of honor and 
justice for his motive, and that the rest were wholly actuated 
by malice and envy." 

When charged by Cassius with too rigid an execution of 
the laws, when lenity was much more politic, he reminded 
him of "the ides of March, the time when they had killed 
Caesar, who was not personally the scourge of mankind, but 
only abetted and supported those that favored his authority. 
He bade him consider that if the neglect of justice were in any 
case to be connived at, it should have been done before; and 
that they had better have borne with the oppression of Ceesar's 
friends, than suffered the malpractices of their own to pass 
with impunity: for then, we could have been blamed only 
for cowardice; but now, after all we have undergone, we 
shall lie under the imputation of injustice. 

In reply to Cassius, Brutus says, in the younger and less 
experienced part of my life, I was led, upon philosophical 
principles, to condemn the conduct of Cato in killing himself. 
I thought it at once impious and unmanly to sink beneath the 
stroke of fortune, and to refuse the lot that had befallen us. 
In my present situation, however, I am of a different opinion : 
so that if heaven should now be unfavorable to our wishes, I 
will no longer solicit my hopes or my fortune, but die con- 
tented with it, such as it is. On the ides of March I devoted 
my life to my country; and since that time I have lived in 
liberty and glory. 

Cicero says of Brutus, l '-l need not tell you how greatly the 
exalted talents and polite manners, together with the singular 
spirit and probity of Marcus Brutus, have ever endeared him 
to my heart." 

His ardent love of liberty, and detestation of tyranny, are 
exhibited in some of his letters after the death of Csesar ; yet, 
it manifestly appears, that, after the destruction of the tyrant, 
he was strongly averse to the shedding of blood, and was 
entirely bent on pacific councils, persuaded that the integrity 
of their cause would unite all people in defence of that liberty 
which was offered them ; and, having conceived some hopes, 
also, of Antony, against whom Cicero entertained implacable 

27* 



318 HISTORICAL KEADEK. 

resentment, he was willing to pay all due respect to his consular 
authority, and was particularly averse to any measures that 
were noi sanctioned by the ordinary forms of the constitution* 
Even after he was driven out of the city by Antony's intrigues, 
he adhered to the same maxims, and dismissed the concourse 
of his friends, who resorted to him 'from all parts of Italy, and 
were eager to take arms in his cause. Cicero, oathecontrary, 
was constantly urging Brutus and his accomplices to take arms 
against the dissimulation and ambitious views of Antony, whom 
he greatly regrets they had not assassinated together with 
Csesar, 

Anxious to restore the constitution, and the authority of the 
laws, he would* not set the example of violating them. A few 
extracts from his letters afford the best illustration of the charac- 
ter of this great man, who may be called the last of the Romans. 
In reply to Cicero's statement, "That the case of the three 
Antonies is one and the same, and that it was his part to 
determine what he ought to judge of it," (this letter was writ- 
ten after Antony's defeat, before the second triumvirate,) he 
says, " I lay down no other rule to myself, but this: that it is 
the right of the Senate and the people of Rome, to pass judg- 
ment on those citizens who have been taken fighting against 
us. But I am to blame, you will say, fcr giving the title of 
citizens to those who bear a hostile disposition io the Republic. 
Yet, I do it with the greatest justice. For where the Senate 
has not yet decreed, nor the Roman people commanded any 
thing, there I neither arrogantly take it upon myself to prejudge, 
nor to impose my will as law. I take it to be much more the 
becoming part, and what the republic would more easily allow 
to us, nut to persecute the fortunes of the miserable, than to 
heap infinite honors on the powerful, which tend to inflame 
their ambition and arrogance. I am in pain, therefore, about 
the consulship, lest this Csesar of yours should think himself 
raised already higher by your decrees, than he would ascend, 
if made consul. I wish that you could look into the fears, 
which I entertain about him. (It appears that Octavius, now 
opposed to Antony, had artfully ensnared Cicero to enter into 
his views, by persuading him that he was desirous of having 
him for his colleage in the consular office, and promising to 
leave the sole administration of it to Cicero's superior wisdom 
and experience. The bait was too well adapted to his vanity 
and ambition, to be thrown out in vain, and Cicero undertook 
the management of this affair upon the terms proposed. And 
by obtaining various decrees of honors for Octavius, who was 



HISTORICAL READER. 319 

now only in his twentieth year, he contributed to establish his 
sovereign authority, and he fell a victim to the ingratitude and 
snares of the artful nephew of the late dictator.) 

"You (Atticus) write me word that Cicero wonders, that I 
never take any notice of his acts. I am at a loss what to 
write, except this one thing, that the ambition and licentious- 
ness of the boy (Octavius) have "been encouraged rather than 
repressed by Cicero ; and that he carries his indulgence so far, 
as not to abstain even from opprobrious language, (towards 
the conspirators.) For my part, 1 cannot think myself obli- 
ged to a man, who, as long as he does not serve any angry 
lord, has no quarrel with servitude itself; nay, decrees tri- 
umphs, and pay, and every kind of honor to him. It is a 
shame for any one, to desire such a condition of life, as he 
has now taken upon himself. Is this the part of a consular? 
this, of Cicero? Does he do all this, because he thinks that 
every thing ought freely to be given up to him, on account of 
his great power? Oh, the strange folly of fear! to be so 
cautious of shunning what we are afraid of, that, instead of 
avoiding it, as we might perhaps have done, we forwardly 
invite and draw it upon ourselves. We have too great a dread 
of death, and of exile, and poverty. These Cicero looks upon 
as the chief ills of life ; and as long as he can find persons 
who will grant him what he desires ; who will respect and 
applaud him; he has no objection to slavery, provided it be 
an honorable one : if any thing can be honorable, in a state 
of the most wretched and abject contumely. Let Octavius 
then call him father, refer all things to him, praise him: yet 
it will be seen at last, that his words are contrary to his acts. 
For what is so opposite to the common sense of mankind, as to 
hold any one in the place oL^a father, who cannot be ranked 
in the number of freemen. ^ 

u I can no longer set any value on those arts, of which I 
know Cicero to be so great a master : for of what use to him 
are all the fine things, that he has written with such eloa^ience, 
for the liberty of his country, or on dignity, death, exile, and 
poverty? Let Cicero then live on, since he can submit to it, 
suppliant and obnoxious; if he has no regard, either to his 
years, or his honors, or the acts of his past life. As for me, 
I will wage war with the thing itself: that is, with tyranny, 
with extraordinary commands, with dominion, and with every 
power, that seeks to advance itself above the laws: nor shall 
any condition of servitude, how advantageous soever, divert 



320 HISTORICAL READER. 

me from it; though Antony, as you write, be an honest man, 
which was never my opinion of him. ' : 

" Some part of your letter (Cicero's) written to Octavius 
concerning me, affected me with the most sensible grief, that 
my mind is capable of receiving. For you compliment him 
so highly for his services to the Republic; in a strain so sup- 
pliant and abject; that — what shall I say? I am ashamed of 
the condition and fortune, to which we are reduced — yet it 
must be said — you recommend my safety to him; (to which 
what death is not preferable?) and plainly shew, that our 
servitude is not yet abolished, but our master only changed. 
Recollect your words, and deny them, if you dare, to be the 
prayers of a slave to his king. 'There is one thing, 5 you say, 
'which is required and expected from him, that he will allow 
those citizens to live in safety, of whom all honest men, and 
the people of Rome think well.' But what, if he will not 
allow it? Shall we be the less safe for that? It is better not 
to be safe, than to be made safe by him. Can you, Cicero, 
allow Octavius to have this [ ower, and be still a friend to him? 
Or, if you have any value for me, would you wish to see me 
at Rome, when I must first be recommended to the boy, that 
he would permit me to be there? What reason have you to 
thank him, if you think it necessary to beg of him, that he 
would grant and suffer us to live in safety? Or is it to be 
reckoned a kindness, that he chooses to see himself, rather 
than Antony, in the condition, to have such petitions addressed 
to him. If we remembered ourselves to be Romans, these most 
infamous men would not be more daring, to grasp at dominion 
than we to repel it : nor would Antony be more encouraged by 
Ccesar's reign, than deterred by his fate. What reason had 
we to rejoice at Caesar's death; if after it, we were still to 
continue slaves. Let other pH^-le, be as indolent as they 
please; but as for me, may the, gods and goddesses deprive me 
sooner of every thing, than the resolution, of not allowing to 
the heir of him, whom I killed, what I did not allow to the 
man himself; nor would suffer even in my father, were he 
living, to have more power, than the laws and the Senate. 

"You beg that he would allow us to be safe. Shall we 
then receive safety, think you, when we have received life 
from him? But how can we receive it, if we first part with 
our honor and our liberty ? Do you fancy that to live at 
Rome is to be safe? It is the thing, and not the place which 
must secure that to me; for I was never safe while Csesar 
lived ; till I had resolved with myself upon that attempt : nor 



HISTORICAL READER. 321 

can I in any place live in exile, as long as I hate slavery and 
insults above all other evils. Do not recommend me, there- 
fore, any more to your Caesar; nor yourself, indeed, if you 
will hearken to me. You set a high value on the few years, 
which remain to you at your age, if for the sake of them, you 
can supplicate that boy. As for me, may I never return to 
you, if ever I either supplicate any man, or do not chastise 
those, who require such supplications to be made to them : or, 
I will remove to a distance from all such as can be slaves ; 
and fancy every place to be Rome, wherever I find it in my 
power to live free; and shall pity you whose fond desire of 
liie, neither age, nor honors, nor the example of other men's 
virtue has been able to moderate. 1 will never yield to those 
who are fond of yielding, or be conquered by those, who are 
willing to be conquered themselves, but will first try and 
attempt every thing; nor ever desist from dragging our 
city out of slavery. If such fortune attend me, as 1 ought to 
have; we shall all rejoice: if not, I shall rejoice still myself. 
For how can this life be better spent, than in acts and thoughts, 
which tend to make my fellow citizens free? I beg and be- 
seech you, Cicero, not to desert the cause- through wariness or 
diffidence. In repelling present evils have your eye always 
on the future; lest they insinuate themselves, before you are 
aware. Consider, that the fortitude and bravery with which 
you saved the Republic when consul, and now again when a 
consular, are nothing, without constancy and consistenc} 7 . 
The case of tried virtue, I confess, is harder than of untried. 
We require services from it as debts. If in any instance it 
happens to disappoint us, we blame with resentment, as if we 
had been deceived by it." 

Antony. — The disposition and conduct of Antony were, in 
almost every respect, the reverse of those of Brutus. Ambi- 
tious, tyrannical, cruel, artful, treacherous, abandoned to the 
grossest sensuality, his character was a complication of vices. 
When he entered Ephesus, the women in the dress of Baccha- 
nals, and men and boys habited like Pan and the Satyrs, 
marched before him. u Nothing was to be seen," says Plu- 
tarch, "through the whole city, but ivy crowns, and spears 
wreathed with ivy, harps, flutes, and pipes/while Antony was 
hailed by the name of Bacchus. To the ministers of his brutal 
pleasures, he was liberal, but to others, he was savage and 
fierce. He deprived many noble families of their fortunes, 
and bestowed them on sycophants and parasites. Manv were 
represented to be dead who were still living, and commissions 



322 HISTORICAL READER. 

were given to his infamous associates for seizing their estates. 
He gave his cook the estate of a Magnesian citizen for dres- 
sing one supper to his taste. When he was at Alexandria, a 
person invited to see the preparations for Antony's supper, 
observed eight wild boars roasting whole, and expressing his 
surprise, the cook said that the company did not exceed twelve, 
but as every dish was to be roasted to a single turn, and as 
Antony was uncertain as the time he would sup, it was neces- 
sary to have a succession of dishes*" Cicero, in his second 
Philippic against Antony, says, " ft is incredible what wealth 
he squandered in a few days. The quantity of wine was im- 
mense; large services of massy plate, costly apparel, and rich 
furniture superbly fitted up for various places, in a few days 
were all dissipated. Whole cellars of wine were lavished 
upon the meanest miscreants. Many things became the plun- 
der of actors and actresses; his house was crowded with 
gamesters and drunkards." And he says in one of his let- 
ters, "The conduct of Mark Antony, ever since my return, 
has not allowed me to enjoy a moment of repose. The 
ferocity of his temper is so excessive, that he cannot bear 
a word, or even a look, which is animated with the least 
spirit of liberty." 

Yet, this man had qualities which recommended him to the 
army, and made him popular with all his fellow soldiers. 
He had a remarkably rlne person, a noble dignity of coun- 
tenance, a capacious forehead, an aquiline nose, and the 
same manly aspect which is represented in the pictures and 
statues of Hercules; and he affected to resemble him in his air 
and dress. That kind of conduct, which was disagreeable 
to others, rendered him beloved by the legions. He talked 
with the soldiers in their own boasting and ribald strain, 
eat and drank with them in public, and would stand to take 
his victuals at their common table. His liberality to his 
soldiers, and to his friends, was the first foundation of his 
advancement, and continued to support him in that power, 
which he had weakened by a thousand irregularities. And 
above all, his recommendatious to the army were his mili- 
tary science and undaunted bravery. — He was at all times 
a turbulent and dangerous citizen ; he was headlong, furious, 
and oppressive. 

M. iEiviiLius Lepidus was a weak, vain, and inconstant 
man ; void of all good intentions to the Republic, and gov- 
erned wholly by such motives as flattered his vanity, or 
served his ambition. He is described by D. Brutus in a 



HISTORICAL READER. 323 

letter to Cicero, " as light and changeable as the wind; and 
never disposed to do any thing that was right." 

Octavius. — A cool head, an unfeeling heart, and a cow- 
ardly disposition, prompted him, at the age of nineteen, to 
assume the mask of hypocrisy, which he never afterwards 
laid aside. With the same hand, and probably with the same 
temper, he signed the proscription of Cicero, and the pardon 
of Cinna. His virtues and even his vices were artificial; and, 
according to the various dictates of his interest, he was at first 
the enemy, and at last the protector of the Roman world. 
When he framed the artful system of the imperial authority, 
his moderation was inspired by his fears. He wished to de- 
ceive the people by an image of liberty, and the armies by an 
image of civil government. Such was the cruelty of his 
character, that in his proscriptions he shed the blood of 300 
Senators and 200 knights.- — Not one of the conspirators against 
Julius Caesar survived the fury of the destructive sword. 

The inscriptions on ancient medals are, (before his elevation 
to the supreme power) Octavius Caesar, son of the deified Julius, 
imperator, triumvir for the purpose of restoring the Common- 
wealth, consul, the assertor of public liberty; — (after his 
accession to the empire) Caesar, Augustus, son of the deified 
Julius Caesar, imperator, consul, chief pontiff, and, with the 
tribunitial power, father of his country; — (after his death) 
Divus Augustus, (the deified Augustus.) 



The conspirators, perceiving the rage of the people, which 
had been excited by Antony, retired from the city. Antony 
acted with the greatest duplicity. Though he had used every 
artifice to rouse the people to revenge the death of Caesar, he 
affected great concern at their riotous proceedings, paid court 
to the Senate, and quelled a sedition which he himself had 
raised. Pretending to dread the resentment of the populace, 
he obtained from the deluded Senate a guard for the security 
of his person. Among other popular measures, he proposed 
the abolition of the name and office of dictator, which gave 
great satisfaction, and seemed a pledge of his good intentions. 
But having in his progress through Italy, drawn great num- 
bers of veterans, who were in his interest towards Rome, to 
be ready for any purpose he should require, he began to acl 
with less reserve. 

Brutus and Cassius now were convinced of their great mis- 
take in dispersing their supporters, and were persuaded that 



824 HISTORICAL READER* 

Antony was aiming at supreme power. Rome was now in the 
power of Antony, who surrounded himself with a guard of 
6,000 veteran soldiers; and the Senate, (many of the members 
of which, apprehending violence, had left the city,) gave the 
cognizance and execution of the acts of Caesar to the consuls. 
This decree gave him great power, for, being consul, and 
having Caesars' papers in his custody, and having in his inter- 
est the secretary by whom the will was made, he forged and 
inserted at pleasure, whatever could advance his anibitious 
projects. He also got possession of the money which Caesar 
had left, and seized the public treasures. But an obstacle to 
his ambition now presented itself. The young Octavius, left 
by his uncle Cassar the heir of his name and estate, appeared 
in Rome to assert his right to the succession of his uncle's estate, 
and to claim the possession of it. On his approach to the city, 
he was met by crowds, who hailed his return from Greece, 
where he had been sent to prosecute his studies, with accla- 
mations of joy. Having demanded of the consul to be put in 
possession of the bequests of his uncle, Antony replied, "that 
he was young, and did not know what he was about; that the 
title he assumed of heir and executor of Caesars' will, was a, 
burden too great for his shoulders." Octavius, not discouraged 
by this reception, paid assiduous court to the people and to the 
Senate, and was favorably regarded by Cicero, who was above 
all things anxious to diminish the power of Antony. Encour- 
aged by the popularity of Caesar's nephew, Cicero ventured 
to deliver against the consul the first of those speeches, which 
are called his Philippics. Brutus soon after went to Macedo- 
nia, and Cassius to Syria, to prepare for the war, which they 
now perceived was inevitable. The hopes of the republican 
party were raised on the quarrel which now existed between 
Antony .and Octavius, both of whom were actively employed in 
raising troops. After Antony had left Rome, Cicero entered, 
and denounced him in the most vehement terms as the enemy 
of his country, and his Philippics were well received by the 
Senate and the people. All the eloquence of Cicero was ex- 
erted in behalf of Octavius, and a decree was passed by the 
Senate, ordering Antony to raise the siege of Mutina, to eva- 
cuate Cisalpine Gaul, and to wait their further orders on the 
banks of the Rubicon. Antony treated the decree with con- 
tempt, and the Senate declared him an enemy to the State, and 
sent Octavius, and the two consuls, to punish his rebellion. 
Antony was defeated, and compelled to fly to Lepidus, who 
commanded a body of forces in Farther Gaul. The two 



HISTORICAL READER. 325 

consuls were mortally wounded, and one of them, Pansa, before 
his death, is said to have advised Octavius to join Antony, 
"assuring him, that the Senate desired to oppress both by 
opposing them to each other." Antony had previously writ- 
ten to Octavius to propose a reconciliation. "Cicero," he 
says, "like a master of gladiators, is matching us, and order- 
ing the combat; who is so far happy as to have caught you 
with the same bait with which he boasts that he caught Cossar. 
I can forgive the injuries of my friends, if they themselves are 
disposed to forget them, or prepared in conjunction with me, 
to revenge the death of Csesar." 

Lcpidus at this time was, by the advice of Cicero, voted an 
enemy of the Republic, and the gilt statue, which they had 
lately erected to him, was demolished. " The Senate acts," 
Cicero writes to Brutus, " with great spirit; but it is the expecta- 
tion of being supported by your army, that chiefly animates 
them in their vigorous measures. I fear, indeed, we shall 
have occasion for all your assistance, as the war is now 
become extremely formidable by the villainy of Lepidus. No 
man possesses more patriotic and heroic spirit than yourself; 
and it is for this reason we wish to see you in Italy, as soon 
as possible." 

The artful policy of Octavius was soon exhibited, and he 
determined no longer to act in subservience to the wishes of 
the Senate. Instead of prosecuting the war, he, though only 
twenty years old, presumptuously made a demand of the con- 
sulship; and Cicero favored his pretensions, being flattered 
with the promise of being his colleague and adviser. The 
demand was made by a deputation of his officers; and when 
the Senate received the proposition more coldly than they 
expected, Cornelius, a centurion, throwing back his robe, and 
showing them his sword, boldly declared, that, "if they would 
not make Octavius consul, the sword should." And the young 
general soon put an end to their scruples, by marching with 
his legions in a hostile manner to the city. The praetors 
placed a guard in different parts of it, and seized upon the 
Janicufum, supported by the troops and two legions. But 
Octavius met with no opposition, and the legions went over 
to him. 

Cicero, disappointed, deceived, and mortified beyond ex- 
pression, now retired from public life, to one of his country 
houses, where neither his books, nor his philosophy could 
possibly afford him any real satisfaction, or save him from the 
constant intrusion of the reproaches of his conscience, stinging 

28 



326 HISTORICAL READER. 

him with the miserable reflection, that he had sacrificed his 
country for his own particular advancement, that he had re- 
ferred all things to himself — which was the true and perfect 
centre of all his actions. 

" Farewell, a long- farewell to all my greatness : 
This is the state of man ; to-day he puts forth 
The tender leaves of hope; to-morrow blossoms, 
And bears his blushing honors thick upon him : 
The third day, comes a frost, a killing frost ; 
And — when he thinks, good easy man, full surely 
His greatness is a ripening—nips his root, 
And then he falls as I do. I have ventur'd, 
Like little wanton boys, that swim on bladders, 
These many summers in a sea of glory, 
But far beyond my depth : my high blown pride 
At length broke under me : and now has left me, 
Weary and old with service, to the mercy 
Of a rude stream, that must forever hide me. 
Vain pomp, and glory of this world, I hate ye ! " 

Octavius was chosen consul, and immediately manifested 
his deeply concealed animosity to the conspirators, by obtain- 
ing a law for bringing to trial and justice all who had been 
concerned in advising or effecting Csesar's death. Having 
established his power in the city, he marched towards Gaul to 
meet Antony and Lepidus ; and in a small island, near Bono- 
nia, the three traitors met, and formed the second triumvirate. 
It was settled, "that they three should be invested jointly with 
the supreme power, for the term of five years, with the title of 
triumviri, for settling the state of the Republic; that they should 
act in all cases by common consent, nominate the magistrates 
both at home and abroad, and determine all affairs relating to 
the Republic by their sole will and pleasure, &c." These 
conditions were received by their respective armies with accla- 
mations of joy, and mutual congratulations. 

The last measure adjusted was the proscription list. This 
occasioned much difficulty and warm disputes, till each of 
them, at last, consented to sacrifice some of his best friends to 
the revenge and resentment of his colleagues. The whole list 
is said to have consisted of 300 Senators and 200 Knights. 
They reserved the publication of it till their arrival at Rome, 
excepting only a [ew of the most obnoxious, the heads of the 
republican party, the chief of whom was Cicero. These, 



HISTORICAL READER. 327 

they marked out for immediate destruction; and sent their 
emissaries directly to surprise and murder them. 

That Antony should put down Cicero's name is what might 
be expected from his character, and the bitter enmity which 
had long existed between him and the great orator; and Cicero 
certainly would not have spared Antony's life, had circum- 
stances put it in his power; but that Octavius should have been 
a party to the mnrder of him, to whom he professed a strong 
attachment, and to whose influence he was indebted, in a great 
measure, for his power, excites feelings of indignation and 
astonishment. It was an act of perfidy and ingratitude scarcely 
equalled in the annals of human depravity. 

Some of Cicero's friends found means to give him early 
notice that his name was in the proscription list. In company 
with his brother and nephew, he hastened to the sea shore, 
with the intention of embarking for Greece. But Quintus, 
being unprepared for so sudden a voyage, resolved to return 
to Rome with his son, to procure money for their support 
abroad. The diligence of Antony's emissaries eluded all their 
caution. The son was found out first; and refusing to make 
known the place of his father's concealment, he was put to the 
rack. The father, hearing his irrepressible groans, burst from 
his hiding place, and begged the assassins to spare his innocent 
son, and take his own life. The son as urgently prayed that 
they would dispatch him, and save his father. But their peti- 
tions were offered to those who were strangers to the soft 
emotions of pity and humanity. The murderers destroyed 
them both at the same time. Cicero, finding a vessel ready 
for him, embarked, but the sea being rough, and the winds 
contrary, he landed, and spent the night in great irresolution 
and uncertainty. His slaves forced him into a litter, and 
carried him off towards the sea shore; but, as they were pro- 
ceeding through the woods, they were overtaken by the ruffians 
of Antony. The servants were preparing to make a resistance, 
but Cicero, aware of the hopelessness of the attempt, command- 
ed them to set him down; and stretching out his neck as far 
as he could, he told the executioners to take what they wanted. 
They cut off his head, and both his hands, and carried them to 
the cruel Antony. The principal actor of this bloody tragedy 
was Popilius, a tribune of the army, whom Cicero had formerly 
defended and preserved in a capital cause. Fulvia, the wife 
of Antony, gratified her revenge, by thrusting her bodkin 
through that tongue, which had so often astonished the world 
by its eloquence, and by effusions which will instruct the latest 



&2S HISTORICAL HEADER. 

posterity. Antony ordered the head to be fixed on the rostra 
between the two hands, and rewarded the chief assassin with 
a civic crown. 

The intellectual qualities of Cicero were of the highest order. 
Fertility of imagination, and quickness of invention, were joined 
in an uncommon degree with acuteness of judgment, and a per- 
petual fund of good sense. As an orator, he has perhaps never 
been equalled. His genius and powers of speaking shone with 
unrivalled lustre, and his name soon became synonymous with 
that of eloquence. 

As a philosopher, the mind of Cicero appears to have been 
clear, capacious, penetrating, and insatiable of knowledge. 
As a critic, he was endowed with every talent that could cap- 
tivate either the judgment or the taste. His researches were 
continually employed on subjects of the greatest utility to 
mankind, and those often such as extended beyond the narrow 
bounds of temporal existence. The being of a God, the im- 
mortality of the soul, a future state of rewards and punishments, 
and the eternal distinction of good and ill; these were in gene- 
ral the great objects of his philosophical inquiries, and he has 
placed them in a more convincing point of view than they were 
ever before exhibited to the pagan world. The variety and 
force of the arguments which he advances, the splendor of his 
diction, and the zeal with which he endeavors to excite the 
love and admiration of virtue, all conspire to place his character, 
as a philosophical writer, including likewise his incomparable 
eloquence, on the summit of human celebrity. 



The triumviri having shed the best blood of Rome, and 
Octavius and Antony, having left Lepidus to defend the city, 
proceeded to Greece to attack the republican army under 
Brutus and Cassius. The armies encountered near Philippi. 
The troops of Cassius were routed; and he retired to a hill 
not far off to await the event of the battle on his colleague's 
side. Descrying a body of cavalry approaching, he sent 
Titinius to discover whether they were friends or enemies. 
The messenger was received with joy, but not returning 
immediately, Cassius cried out, "Alas! to preserve the re- 
mainder of a miserable life, I have ruined my best friend!" 
and instantly retiring into his tent, killed himself. Brutus, 
after this, kept twenty days within his intrenchments, but, as 
many of his officers had deserted, he determined to risk a 
second battle. His army was entirely defeated* Brutus 



HISTORICAL READER. 329 

retired, and threw himself upon a sword, held by a friend at 
his request, and immediately expired. 

B. C. 41. Thus perished the last expectations of the 
Republican party. 

41 Hope, for a season, bade the world farewell, 
And Freedom shriek'd — as Marcus Brutus fell. 
But in that generous cause, forever strong, 
The patriot's virtue and the poet's song, 
Still, as the tide of ages rolls away, 
Shall charm the world, unconscious of decay." 

The triumviri acted as sovereigns, and divided the Roman 
world between them, as theirs by right of conquest. The 
quarrels of the tyrants make no proper part of the history of 
the Roman Republic. Lepidus was deprived of his power six 
years after the battle of Philippi. Mark Antony, seduced by 
the charms of Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, forgot the cares of 
empire. Octavius improved the opportunity of establishing 
his own power, and resolved to rule alone. He was victorious 
over his remaining competitor, in a great naval engagement off 
Actium, in Greece, five years after the deposition of Lepidus; 
and from the battle of Actium takes its commencement the 
series of emperors, under whom Rome scarcely retained any 
feature of that illustrious, and high minded, and independent 
nation it had been before the destruction of Carthage. 

28* 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



PALESTINE. 



This once fertile region, which was made tributary to the 
Romans by Pompey, was first called the land of Canaan from 
Noah's grandson. It received the name of Palestine from the 
Palestines or Philistines, who possessed a great part of it; and 
it had the name of Judeea from Judah, one of the twelve sons 
of Jacob. It is bounded by Mount Libanus, which divides it 
from Syria, on the north ; by Mount Hermon, which separates 
it from Arabia Deserta, on the east; by the mountains of Seir 
and the deserts of Arabia Petrsea, on the south ; and by the 
Mediterranean sea on the west. 

This country did not receive the name of Judsea till after 
the return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity. By the 
heathen writers, it is called by many different names, as Pal- 
estina Syria, Caele Syria, Idumea, and Phoenicia. That part 
of the country which was properly called the Land of Promise, 
was inclosed on the west by the Mediterranean ; on the east 
by the lake Asphaltites, the Jordan, and the sea of Tiberias 
or of Galilee, and the Sammachonite lake; to the north it 
had the mountains of Libanus, or rather of Antilibanus, or 
the province of Phoenicia ; and to the south that of Edom 
or Iduma3a, from which it was likewise parted by another 
ridge of high mountains. The boundaries of the other part, 
which belonged to the two tribes and a half beyond the river 
Jordan, are not so easily defined. 

Palestine contained Galilee in the north ; Samaria in the 
middle, and Judsea in the south. These lay west of Jordan. 
On the east of it was Peraea. The sea coast of Judsea was 
the country of the Philistines, and in the south east, extend- 
ing into Arabia Petrsea, was Idumsea, or Edom. The chief 
places in Galilee were Itopata, Cana, Gischala, Sephoris, 
Capernaum, Bethsaida, Nazareth, Nain, Tiberias, and Scytho- 
polis. — In Samaria were Csesaroea, Samaria, and Antipatris. 



HISTORICAL HEADER. 331 

In Judea were Joppa, Azotus, Gaza, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, 
Emmaus, Jericho, and Massada. — In the Persea were Machse- 
rus, Bethabara, Pella, Magdala, Gadara, Julias, and Csesarea 
Philippi. — The Jordan rises in the mountains of Antilibanus, 
passes through the lake of Tiberias, and after a course of one 
hundred and fifty miles, falls into the Lacus Asphallites, or 
Dead Sea. 

Jerusalem was built on four hills, called Sion, Acra, Moriah, 
and Bezetha. On Moriah stood the magnificent temple. The 
city was surrounded by a triple wall. Its principal fountain 
was Siloa. 

The promised land, strictly so called, was much more ex- 
tensive than our maps generally represent it. A good part of 
Lebanon, with the fruitful vales that intersect it, ought to be 
included in it ; and the ten tribes and a half on this side 
Jordan, extended their settlements southward a good way into 
Arabia. 

Palestine is represented by Moses as a remarkably fertile 
country, in which the best modern travellers agree. Some 
writers, forming their opinion from the present neglected state 
of the country, have presumptuously asserted, that it could not 
possibly have maintained the great number of inhabitants which 
we read of in the time of David and Solomon. The country 
around Jerusalem is indeed ill adapted for tillage, but its vine- 
yards and olive yards highly enriched it. But the soil of 
Palestine is, in general, much richer than that of the best parts 
of Syria. — The rocks and hills were anciently covered with 
soil. The stones were gathered and placed in several lines 
along the sides of the hills in the form of a wall, by which 
means the mould was prevented from being washed down. 
Many beds of soil rose gradually one above another, from the 
bottom to the tops of the mountains. Thus the very rocks 
were made fruitful. 

The mountains abound in some places with thyme, rose- 
mary, sage, and aromatic plants, from which the bee makes 
its honey; and in other parts there are various shrubs, and a 
delicate soft grass, of which the cattle are very fond, so that, 
with proper culture, Judea would again become a land flowing 
with milk and honey. The barrenness or scarcity of which some 
writers speak, does not proceed from the incapacity or natural 
unfruitfulness of the country, but from the general neglect of 
agriculture occasioned by a wretched system of government, 
and the perpetual discords and depredations among the petty 
governors, who lay waste the face of nature. From the 



332 HISTORICAL READER. 

present situation of the country, for more than a thousand 
years devastated by war, and the tyranny of barbarians, no 
conclusion can be drawn with respect to its natural fertility. 

When the Israelites entered this region, the inhabitants 
were guilty of the most licentious abominations of idolatry. 
From the top of mount Nebo, the Hebrew legislator surveyed 
a large tract of country. Gazing on the magnificent prospect, 
beholding in prophetic anticipation his great and happy Com- 
monwealth occupying its numerous towns and blooming fields^ 
Moses breathed his last. 

Such was the end of the Hebrew lawgiver — a man who, 
considered merely in a historical light, without any reference 
to his divine inspiration, has exercised a more extensive and 
permanent influence over the destinies of his own nation and 
mankind at large, than any other individual, recorded in the 
annals of the world. Christianity and Mahometanism alike 
respect, and, in different degrees, derive their origin from the 
Mosaic institutes. Thus, throughout Europe, with all its 
American descendants — the larger part of Asia and the north 
of Africa — the opinions, the usages, the civil as well as reli- 
gious ordinances — retain deep and indelible traces of their 
descent from the Hebrew polity. To his own nation Moses 
was chieftain, historian, poet, lawgiver. He was more than 
all these — he was the author of their civil existence. Other 
founders of republics, and distinguished legislators, have been 
like Numa, already at the head of a settled and organized 
community; or have been voluntarily invested with legislatorial 
authority, like Charondas, Lycurgus, and Solon, by a people 
suffering the inconveniences of anarchy. Moses had first to 
form his people, and bestow on them a country of their own, 
before he could create his commonwealth. 

The Hebrews would either have been absorbed in the popu- 
lation of Egypt, or remained a wretched Parian caste, had 
Moses never lived, or never received his divine commission. 
In this condition he took them up, rescued them from captivity; 
finding them unfit for his purposes, he kept them by Divine 
command for forty years under the severe discipline of the 
desert; then led them as conquerors to take permanent pos- 
session of a most fruitful region. Yet, with singular disregard 
to his own fame, though with great advantage to his design, 
Moses uniformly referred to an earlier and a more remote 
personage the dignity of parent of his people. The Jews were 
children of Abraham, not of Moses; they were a distinguished 
nation as descendants of the patriarch, not as compatriots of 



HISTORICAL READER. 333 

the lawgiver. The virtue of pure disinterested patriotism 
never shone forth more unclouded. 

Let Moses, as contrasted with human legislators, be judged 
according to his age; he will appear, not merely the first who 
founded a commonwealth on just principles, but a lawgiver 
who advanced political society to as high a degree of perfection 
as the state of civilization which his people had attained, or 
were capable of attaining, could possibly admit. But if such 
be ihe benign, the prematurely wise, and original character of 
the Mosaic institutions, the faith of -the Jew and the Christian 
in the Divine commission of the great legislator is the more 
strongly established and confirmed. 

Joshua assumed the command, passed the Jordan, took 
Jericho, attacked and defeated the Canaanites of the North 
and the South ; city after city fell ; tribe after tribe was exter- 
minated. The war lasted in the whole seven years, the latter 
part of which was consumed in the reduction of the cities. 
During this period, the seven nations — -the Canaanites, properly 
so called — -(the Amorites, the Hittites, the Iiivites, the Girga- 
shites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites) — were entirely sub- 
dued, though not extirpated ; thirty-one kings had fallen under 
the sword. Fatally for the future peace of the Commonwealth, 
the war was suspended; the conquest remained unfinished; 
many of the Canaanites continued within the Jewish territory, 
ready on all occasions to wreak their vengeance on the con- 
querors, and perpetually weaning the Israelites from their own 
pure and spiritual faith to the barbarous or licentious rites of 
idolatry. 

The first two objects after the conquest were first, the solemn 
recognition of the law on mount Ebal and Gerizzim. Second- 
ly, the survey and division of the land, with the location of 
the tribes. 

According to a careful computation, the Jewish dominion 
at the time of the division, was 180 miles long, by 130 wide, 
and contained 14,976,000 acres. This quantity of land will 
divide to 600,000 men, about 21^ acres in property, with a 
remainder of 1,976,000 for the Levitical cities, the princes of 
the tribes, the heads of families, and other public uses. 
Assuming the estate of 21 ^ acres, assigned to each household, 
of course a larger proportion of pasture must have been given 
to those tribes, who subsisted on their herds and Mocks, than 
of arable to those who lived by tillage, the portions of the 
latter, therefore, must be considerably reduced. 



334 HISTORICAL HEADER. 

On the other hand, the extraordinary fertility of the whole 
country must be taken into the account. No part was waste; 
very little was occupied by unprofitable wood ; the more fertile 
hills were cultivated in artificial terraces, others were hung 
with orchards of fruit trees; the more rocky and barren dis- 
tricts were covered with vineyards. Even in the present day, 
the wars and misgovernment of ages have not exhausted the 
natural richness of the soil. Galilee, says MalteBrun, would 
be a paradise, were it inhabited by an industrious people, under 
an enlightened government. No land can be less dependent 
on foreign importation; it bears within itself every thing that 
could be necessary for the subsistence and comfort of a simple 
agricultural people. The climate is healthy, the seasons regu- 
lar ; the former rains, which fall about October, after the 
vintage, prepare the ground for the seed ; the latter, which 
prevail during March and the beginning of April, make it grow 
rapidly. As soon as the rains cease, the grain ripens with 
great rapidity, and is gathered in before the end of May. The 
summer months are dry and hot; but the nights cool, and 
refreshed by copious dews. In September, the vintage is 
gathered. Grain of all kinds — wheat, barley, millet, zea, and 
other sorts would grow in abundance. Besides the vine and 
the olive, the almond, the date, figs of many kinds, the orange, 
the pomegranate, and many other fruit trees nourish in the 
greatest luxuriance. Great quantity of honey might be col- 
lected. The balm-tree, which produced the opo-balsamum, a 
great object of trade, was probably introduced from Arabia in 
the time of Solomon. 

The assignment of the different estates, seems to have been 
left to the local government of each tribe. Certain distinguish- 
ed persons, as Joshua and Caleb, received grants of land 
larger than ordinary; perhaps the heads of tribes enjoyed a 
similar privilege; but the whole land was subject to the com- 
mon law of property. The great principle of this law was 
the inalienability of estates. Houses in walled towns might 
be sold in perpetuity, if unredeemed within the year; land 
only for a limited period. At the Jubilee every estate reverted, 
without re-purchase, to- the original proprietor. Even during 
this period it might be redeemed, should the proprietor become 
rich enough, at the value which the estate would produce 
during the years unelapsed before the Jubilee. This remark- 
able Agrarian law secured the political equality of the people, 
arid anticipated all the mischiefs so fatal to the early republics 
of Greece and Rome, the appropriation of the whole territory 



HISTORICAL READER. 335 

of the state by a rich and powerful landed oligarchy, with 
the consequent convulsions of the community, from the 
deadly struggle between the patrician and plebeian orders. 
In the Hebrew state, the improvident individual might reduce 
himself and his family to penury or servitude, but he could 
not perpetuate a race of slaves or paupers. Every fifty 
years God, the King and Lord of the soil, as it were, re- 
sumed the whole territory, and granted it back in the same 
portions to the descendants of the original possessors. 

Thus the body of the people were an independent yeo- 
manry, residing on their hereditary farms, the boundaries 
of which remained forever of the same extent ; for the re- 
moval of a neighbor's landmark was among the crimes 
against which the law uttered its severest malediction. In 
this luxuriant soil, each man had the only capital necessary 
to cultivate his property to the highest degree of productive- 
ness, the industry of himself and his sons. Hence large pro- 
perties would by no means have increased the general wealth, 
while they might have endangered the independence of the 
people. The greater danger to be apprehended in so populous 
a country, might seem to have been the minute subdivisions of 
the estates, as all the sons inherited ; the eldest had a double 
portion. Females succeeded only in default of males, and 
then under the restriction that they might not marry out of 
their own tribe. Yet this inconvenience seems never to have 
been practically felt; the land, though closely, was never over- 
peopled. 

Each estate was held on the tenure of military service; all 
Israel was one standing army. The only taxes were the two- 
tenths and the other religious offerings. The first tenth was 
assigned to the tribe of Levi, for the maintenance of this 
learned nobility, and in return for a surrender of their right to 
a twelfth portion of the land. The Levites had likewise 48 
cities, each with a domain of between eight and nine hundred 
acres. The second tenth was called the Tithe of Feasts, or 
the Tithe of the Poor. Every third year in the chief town of 
the district, public tables were opened, at which all ranks and 
classes feasted together at the common expense of the richer 
proprietors. An institution simple and beautiful, securing the 
advantages of brotherhood and kindly feeling; while it avoided 
that too great interference with the private and domestic habits 
which arose out of the public tables in some of the Grecian 
republics. The Hebrew was reminded that he was a member 
of a larger national, and a smaller municipal community, but 



336 HISTORIC AX READER. 

his usual sphere was that of private life. The Greek was 
always a public man; the member of the family was lost in 
the citizen. 

The only public revenue of the Hebrew Commonwealth was 
that of the sacred treasury, the only public expenditure that of 
the religious worship. This was supported by a portion of the 
spoils taken in war; the first fruits, which in their institution 
were no more than could be carried in a basket, at a later 
period were rated to be one part in sixty; the redemption of the 
first born, and of whatever was vowed to the Lord. Almost 
every thing of the last class might be commuted for money 
according to a fixed scale. The different annual festivals were 
well calculated to promote internal commerce; maratime or 
foreign trade, is scarcely mentioned in the law. 

The manufactures of the people supplied their own wants. 
They brought from Egypt the arts of weaving woollens and 
linens, stuffs made of fine goat's hair, and probably cotton ; 
of dying in various colors, and bleaching, and of embroidering; 
of many kinds of carpenter's work; of building, some of the 
rules of which were regulated by law; of making earthenware 
vessels; of working in iron, brass, and the precious metals, 
both casting them and forming them with the tool; of gilding, 
engraving seals, and various other kinds of ornamental work, 
which were employed in the construction of the altars and 
sacred vessels of the Tabernacle. 

Joshua appointed no successor to the supreme authority, 
and the separate republics, under the control of their own 
chieftains, and other local officers, assumed the administration 
of affairs. One fatal act of disobedience, the desisting from 
the war before their enemies were rooted out, prevented the 
permanence of the blessings which the people enjoyed; and 
the land, which was intended to be a scene of peace and free- 
dom, before long became that of war and servitude. The 
neighborhood of the idolatrous tribes led to apostacy, apostacy 
to weakness and subjection. 

Under the authority of judges, which lasted about 460 
years, we are presented with a period, if carelessly surveyed, 
of alternate slavery and bloody struggles for independence. 
Hence may rashly be inferred the total failure of the Mosaic 
polity in securing the happiness of the people. But the views 
of the legislator were not carried into effect, and the miseries 
of the people were the natural consequences of their deviation 
from their original statutes. But in fact out of this period of 
460 years, not one fourth was passed under foreign oppression, 



HISTORICAL READER. 337 

and many of the servitudes seem to have been local, extending 
only over certain tribes, not over the whole nation. Above 
300 )ears of peaceful and uneventful happiness remain, to 
which history, only faithful in recording the crimes and 
sufferings of man, bears the favorable testimony of her 
silence. 

If the Hebrew nation did not enjoy a high degree of intel- 
lectual civilization, yet as simple husbandmen, possessing 
perfect freedom, equal laws, the regular administration of 
justice — cultivating a soil which yielded bountifully, yet re- 
quired but light labor — with a religion strict as regards the 
morals which are essential to individual, domestic, and na- 
tional peace, yet indulgent in every kind of social and festive 
enjoyment, — the descendants of Abraham had reached a higher 
state of virtue and happiness than any other nation of the 
period. A uniform simplicity of manners pervaded the whole 
people; they were all shepherds or husbandmen. Gideon was 
summoned to deliver his country from the thrashing floor: 
Saul, even after he was elected king, was found driving his 
herd: David was educated in the sheep fold. But the habits 
of the people are no where described with such apparent fidelity 
and lively interest as in the rural tale of Rulh and her kins- 
man — a history which united all the sweetness .of the best 
pastoral poetry with the truth and simplicity of real life. 

The people, at length, determined to change their form of 
government, and a monarchy was established under Saul. 
The conquests of David made the Jews masters of the eastern 
branch of the Red Sea; and under Solomon, a fleet manned 
by Tyrians sailed along the eastern coast of Africa, in some 
part of which wasOphir. Solomon subdued part of the Syrian 
tribes, and built two cities, Tadmor, (Palmyra,) and Baalath, 
(Baal-bec,) between the Euphrates and the coast. His most 
splendid work was the celebrated Temple, and the most glori- 
ous scene of his reign was the dedication. The prayer is of 
unexampled sublimity. As the king concluded in these em- 
phatic terms — " Now, therefore, arise, O Lord God, into thy 
resting place, thou and the ark of thy strength : let thy priests, 
O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and fhy saints rejoice 
in thy goodness. O Lord God, turn not away from the face 
of thine anointed : remember the mercies of David, thy ser- 
vant" — the cloud which had rested over the Holy of Holies, 
grew brighter and more dazzling; rlre broke out and consum- 
ed all the sacrifices; the priest stood without, awe-struck by 
the insupportable splendor: the whole people fell on their 

29 



338 HISTORICAL READER. 

faces, and worshipped and praised the Lord ; " for he is good, 
and his mercy is forever." 

Which was greater, the external magnificence, or the moral 
sublimity of this scene? Was it the temple, situated on its 
commanding eminence, with all its courts, the dazzling splen- 
dor of its materials, the innumerable multitudes, the priesthood 
in their gorgeous attire, the king, with all the ensignia of roy- 
alty, on his throne of burnished brass, the music, the radiant 
cloud filling the temple, the sudden fire flashing upon the altar, 
the whole nation upon their knees? Was it not rather the 
religious grandeur of the hymns and of the prayer : the exalted 
and rational views of the Divine Nature, the union of a whole 
people in the adoration of one Great, Incomprehensible, Al- 
mighty, Everlasting Creator. 

Who can contrast this sublime scene wiih the supplications, 
religious ceremonies, and principles of the Roman people, and 
hesitate to admit the divine legation of the fugitive shepherd of 
Israel? 

Solomon died after a reign of forty years, and with him 
expired the glory and the power of the Jewish empire. 

Under his son Rehoboam, the kingdom was divided. Ten 
of the tribes unanimously renounced their allegiance, raised- 
Jeroboam to the throne, and forced the son of Solomon to fly 
to his native kingdom of Judah. Thus the national union was 
forever dissolved, and the Hebrew kingdom never recovered 
the fatal blow. The wickedness of the kings of the ten tribes 
did not reach its height till the accession of Ahab, (B. C. 919,) 
who had married Jezebel, the fierce and cruel daughter of the 
king of Sidon. Under her influence the Sidonian worship of 
Baal, the Sun, was introduced; his temples openly built and 
consecrated ; and this fierce and persecuting idolatry threat- 
ened to exterminate the ancient religion. 

At this period, the prophets acted their most prominent and 
important part in Jewish history. Prophecy, in its more ex- 
tensive meaning, comprehended the whole course of religious 
education; and as the Levitical class were the sole authorised 
conservators and interpreters of the law, the prophets were 
usually of that tribe, or at least persons educated under their 
care. Now, however, they assume a higher character, and 
appear as a separate and influential class in the State. They 
are no longer the musicians, poets, and historians of the coun- 
try, but men full of a high and solemn enthusiasm, the moral 
and religious teachers of the people. The most eminent were 
designated for their office by divine inspiration, endowed with 



HISTORICAL READER. 339 

the power of working miracles, and of foretelling future events. 
Bur, independently of their divine commission, the prophets 
were the great constitutional patriots of the Jewish State, the 
champions of virtue, liberty, justice, and the strict observance 
of the civil and religious law, against the iniquities of kings 
and of the people. In no instance do they fall beneath the 
lofty and humane morals ol'the Mosaic Institution. They are 
always on the side of the oppressed; they boldly rebuke, but 
never factiously insult, their kings; they defend, but never 
flatter the passions of the people. In no instance does one of 
the acknowledged seers, like the turbulent demagogues of the 
Grecian or Roman Republics, abuse his popular influence for 
his own personal aggrandizement or authority. 

As the storm darkened over the Hebrew kingdom, the voices 
of the prophets became louder and more sublime. In their 
magnificent lyric odes, we have a poetical history of these 
momentous times, not merely describing the fall of the two 
Hebrew nations, but that of the adjacent kingdoms likewise. 
As each independent tribe or monarchy was swallowed up in 
the great universal empire of Assyria, the seers of Judah 
watched the progress of the invader; and uttered their sublime 
funeral anthems over the greatness, the prosperity, and inde- 
pendence of Moab, and Ammon, Damascus, and Tyre. They 
were like the great tragic chorus to the awful drama, which 
was unfolding itself in tha eastern world. 

Shalmanezer, the Assyrian monarch, besieged Samaria, 
(B. C. 720,) which, after an obstinate resistance of three 
years, surrendered ; and thus terminated forever the indepen- 
dent kingdom of Israel or Ephraim. It was the policy of the 
Assyrian monarchs to transplant the inhabitants of the con- 
quered provinces on their borders, to the inland districts of 
their empire. From this period history loses sight of the ten 
tribes as a distinct people. Prideaux supposes that they were 
totally lost and absorbed in the nations among whom they 
settled : but imagination has lcved to follow them into remote 
and inaccessible regions, where it is supposed they still await 
the final restoration of the twelve tribes to their native land; 
or, it has traced the Jewish features, language, and religion, 
in different tribes, particularly the Afghans of India, and in a 
still wilder spirit of romance, in the Americans. 

Nebuchadnezzer, who was associated in the empire of 
Assyria with his father, (B. C. 601,) passed the Euphrates, 
and rapidly overran the whole of Syria and Palestine. Jeru- 
salem was taken, and the king was put in chains, to be carried 



340 HISTORICAL READER. 

as a prisoner to Babylon, but on his submission, he was 
reinstated on the throne, yet the temple was plundered, and 
Daniel and many others were taken to Babylon. Three 
years after he attempted to throw off the yoke of Assyria, 
but was slain, perhaps in some sally, (B. C. 598.) His son 
had scarcely mounted the throne, when Nebuchadnezzer ap- 
peared at the gates of the city, which surrendered at discretion. 
The king and all the royal family of Judah, the remaining 
treasures of the temple, and all the more useful artizans, were 
carried away to Babylon. Over the wreck of the kingdom, 
Zedekiah was permitted to reign. In his ninth year, notwith- 
standing all the remonstrances of the prophet Jeremiah, he 
endeavored to assert his independence, and Jerusalem made 
some resistance. At length, famine reduced the fatal obstinacy 
of despair. Jerusalem opened its gates; the king, attempting 
to escape, was seized; his children were slain before his face; 
his eyes were put out; and thus, the last king of the royal 
house of David, blind and childless, was led to a foreign 
prison. The relentless Nabuzaradan executed the orders of 
his master, by levelling the city, the palaces, and the temple, 
in one common ruin. The chief priests were put to death ; 
the rest carried into captivity. "Her gates are sunk into the 
ground ; he hath destroyed and broken her bars ; her kings 
and her princes are among the Gentiles; the law is no more; 
her prophets find no vision from the Lord. The elders of the 
daughters of Zion sit on the ground, and keep silence. How 
is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! 
The stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every 
street. Our necks are under persecution : we labor and have 
no rest. The joy of our heart is ceased ; our dance is turned 
into mourning." 

A people, transplanted from their native country, if scattered 
in small numbers, gradually melt away, and are absorbed in 
the surrounding tribes : if settled in larger masses, remote from 
each other, they grow up into distinct commonwealths; but in 
a generation or two the principle of separation, which is per- 
petually at work, effectually obliterates all community of 
interest or feeling. One nation alone seems entirely exempt 
from this universal law. During the Babylonian captivity, as 
under the longer dispensation under which they have been for 
ages afflicted, the Jews still remained a separate people. 
However widely divided from their native country, they were 
still Jews ; however remote from each other, they were still 
brethren. Their law and their religion are the strong bond§ 
which hold together this single people. 



HISTORICAL READER. 843 

and Alexandrian Jews enjoyed many marks of the royal favor; 
and while almost all the rest of the world was ravaged by war, 
their country flourished in profound peace. 

But, at length, they were destined to endure the barbarous 
tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes, (B. C. 175.) Yet the savage 
and tyrannical violence of this persecutor was perhaps the safe 
guard of the Jewish nation from the greatest danger to which 
it had ever been exposed, the slow and secret encroachment of 
Grecian manners, arts, vices, and idolatry. It roused the 
dormant energy of the whole people, and united again, in in- 
dissoluble bonds, the geuerous desires of national independence, 
with zealous attachment to the national religion, it again 
identified the true patriot with the devout worshipper- Anti- 
ochus having got possession of Jerusalem, put to death in three 
days 40.000 of the inhabitants, and seized as many more to 
be sold as slaves, and committed the most wanton outrages 
against the religion of the people. The persecutions, as we 
learn from the book of the Maccabees, were dreadful, and the 
worship of Jehovah was threatened with extermination. But 
this violent oppression roused a noble band of patriots. Judas 
unfolded the banner of the Maccabees, (a name the derivation 
of which is not known,) and his achievements are equal, if not 
superior, to any of the heroic exploits of the patriots of Greece 
and Rome. On all sides triumphant, Judas entered, with his 
valiant confederates, the ruined and desolate Jerusalem. Every 
part of the sacred edifice had been profaned. He constructed 
a new altar, and celebrated the feast of dedication — a period 
of eight days — which ever after was held sacred in the Jewish 
calendar. It was the festival of the regeneration of the people, 
which, but for the valor of the Maccabees, had almost lost its 
political existence. Judas, at length, drove the enemies of his 
nation out of Judaaa. But. the spirit of faction, and contentions 
for the High Priesthood, at length enabled the Syrians again 
to take possession of Jerusalem. Judas entered into a formal 
alliance with Rome, but before any assistance could be afford- 
ed, the glorious career of the Maccabee was terminated. 
Among those lofty spirits who have asserted the liberty of 
their native land against wanton and cruel oppression, none 
have surpassed the most able of the Maccabees in accom- 
plishing a great end with inadequate means; none ever united 
more generous valor with a better cause. 

The faction of the unworthy High Priest, -Alcimus, now 
triumphed, but subsequently Jonathan, supported by the influ- 
ence of his alliance with Rome, became master of Judeea, and 



344 HISTORICAL READER. 

assumed the pontifical robe; and in his person commenced the 
reign of the Asmonean princes. The victorious high priest 
stormed Joppa, took Azotus, and there destroyed the famous 
temple of Dagon. (The revolution in the kingdom of Syria, 
at this time, was favorable to the political interests of Judsea, 
each of the competitors for the kingdom courting the support 
of the Jews.) But, betrayed by the insidious offers of peace 
from one of the generals of the Syrian army, he was taken 
prisoner, and put to death. His brother Simon, openly es- 
pousing the party of Demetrius against Tryphon, received a 
full recognition of the independence of his country, and direct- 
ed Iiis whole attention to the consolidation and internal security 
of the Jewish kingdom. He sent an ambassage to Rome, 
which was favorably received. In the mean time, the brother 
of the late king of Syria sent to Jerusalem to demand tribute, 
and on the Jewish sovereign refusing all submission, an army 
was sent to invade Judcea. Simon and his elder son were 
treacherously assaulted, but the younger son, inheriting the 
vigor and ability of his family, determined to revenge the base 
murder of his father. But the Syrian army overran the whole 
country, and he was closely besieged in Jerusalem, and at last 
compelled to submit to vassalage under the kings of Syria. 
But whilst the king of Syria was engaged in a distant expedi- 
tion, Hyrcanus (John) availing himself of an opportunity to 
withdraw from his liege lord, threw off the yoke of Syria, 
(B. C. 149,) and the Jewish kingdom reassumed its indepen- 
dence, which it maintained until it fell under the Roman 
dominion. The Syrian kingdom being distracted by rival 
competitors for the throne, the prudent and enterprising Hyr- 
canus lost no opportunity of extending his territory and in- 
creasing his power. But that which raised him the highest in 
the opinion of his zealous countrymen, was the capture of 
Sichem and the destruction of the rival temple on Gerizim, 
which for two hundred years had shocked the sight of the 
pilgrim to Jerusalem. Having reduced Sichem, he became 
master of all Samaria and Galilee. Those who are most 
forward in asserting their liberty, do not always know how 
to enjoy it; still less how to concede it to others. 

Aristobulus, the son of Hyrcanus, succeeded : his reign, 
though brief, was long enough for much crime and much 
misery. His mother, claiming by the will of Hyrcanus the 
sovereignty, was thrown into a dungeon and starved to death, 
His brother Antigonus was assassinated. Aristobulus, seized 
with agonizing compunction for his crimes, vomited blood, and 



HISTORICAL READER. 341 

Seventy years after the captivity of Judah, the Assyrian 
monarchy was overthrown by the Medes and Persians under 
Cyrus, and the conqueror issued the welcome edict, command- 
ing the restoration of the exiled Hebrews to their native land. 
Their first object was to restore the worship of God ; the altar 
was set up, the feasts re-established, and the temple at length 
built, probably on the old foundations. Unexpected difficulties 
impeded its progress. The people called Samaritans made 
overtures to assist in the great national work, but their propo- 
sal was peremptorily and contemptuously rejected. 

The Samaritans were probably a mixture of the ten tribes 
of Israel, who remained or returned to the country, and the 
colonists who were introduced by the Assyrians. These 
colonists were perhaps slowly and imperfectly weaned from 
their native superstitions, and fell by degrees into the habits 
and belief of their adopted country. The traditions of the 
Samaritans derive their regular lineage from Ephraim and 
Manassehj the sons of Joseph. The remarkable fact, that this 
people have preserved the book of the Mosaic law in the ruder 
and more ancient character, while the Jews, after their return 
from Babylon, universally adopted the more elegant Chaldean 
form of ietters, (in which the Hebrew Bible is now printed,) 
strongly confirms the opinion, that although by no means pure 
and unmingled, the Hebrew blood still predominated in their 
race. In many other respects, regard for the Sabbath, and 
even of the Sabbatic year, and the payment of tithes to their 
priests, the Samaritans did not fall below their Jewish rivals 
in attachment to the Mosaic polity. 

From this period the hostility of the Jews and Samaritans 
assumed its character of fierce and implacable animosity. 

The reign of Artaxerxes, the successor of Xerxes on the 
Persian throne, was favorable to the Jews. In the seventh 
year, a new migration took place from Babylon, headed by 
Ezra. And Nehemiah received a commission to rebuild the 
city. Ezra, who had been superseded ill the civil administra- 
tion b)' Nehemiah, devoted himself to the momentous task of 
collating the sacred books of the Jews. Much of the Hebrew 
literature was lost at the time of the captivity; the ancient book 
of Jasher, the writings of Gad, and Iddo the prophet, and those 
of Solomon on Natural History. At this time most likely the 
Jews began to establish synagogues, for the use of which co- 
pies of the sacred writings were multiplied. And the Jewish 
constitution was finally re-established. Notwithstanding the 
remonstrances of Malachi, the last of the prophets, the solemn 

29* 



342 HISTORICAL READER. 

covenant was forgotten. The Jews had entered into family 
alliances with strangers. Nehemiab, armed with authority 
from the Persian court, reformed these disorders, but San- 
ballat, the Horonite, (whose daughter the high priest had 
married, for which offence he was expelled from Jerusalem,) 
took signal revenge. He built a rival temple on mount Geri- 
zim, and appointed his banished son-in-law high priest; and 
thus the schism between the two nations, the Jews and Samari- 
tans, was perpetuated, and was a constant source of animosity 
and violence. 

During the great period of Grecian splendor in arms, enter- 
prize, and letters, the Jews in quiet, and perhaps enviable 
obscurity, lay hid within their native valleys. The tide of 
war rolled on at a distance, wasting Asia Minor, and occa- 
sionally breaking on the shores of Cyprus and Egypt. The 
Greeks little apprehended that a few leagues inland from the 
coast which their fleets perpetually passed, a people was qui- 
etly pursuing its rural occupations, and cultivating its luxuriant 
soil, yet possessed treasures of poetry, which would rival their 
own Pindar and Simonides, moral wisdom which might put 
to shame that of Plato, and were worshipping God, who made 
the world and ail things therein, svhom they, with all their 
philosophy, and all their searching, could not find out. 

The principal administration of the Persian governors exer- 
cised only a general superintendence over the subject nations, 
and the internal government of Jerusalem fell insensibly into 
the hands of the High Priests. At length the peace of this 
favored district was interrupted by the invasion of Alexander 
the Great. On the death of Alexander, Judaea came into the 
possession ofLaomedon, one of his generals. On his defeat, 
Ptolemy, the king of Egypt, attempted to seize the whole of 
Syria. He entered Jerusalem on the Sabbath, and met with 
no resistance, and the conqueror carried away 100,000 cap- 
tives, whom he settled chiefly in Alexandria and Cyrene. 
But, in a short time, he adopted a more humane policy, and 
intrusted the chief garrisons of Judaea to the care of the Jews. 
But Syria and Judaea did not escape the dreadful anarchy which 
ensued during the destructive warfare waged by the generals 
and successors of Alexander. The founding of the Syro- 
Grecian kingdom by Selucus, and the establishment of Antioch 
as the capital, brought Judaea into the unfortunate situation of 
a weak province, placed between two great conflicting mon- 
archies. Still, under the mild government of the first three 
Ptolemies, Soter, Philadelphus, and Euergetes, both the native 



HISTORICAL READER. 345 

soon after expired in an agony of remorse and horror. Alex- 
ander Janna3us, the next in succession, assumed the throne, 
and put to deaih his younger brother, who attempted to usurp 
his place. His reign was a scene of constant war, and on 
several occasions the kingdom of Judcea was reduced to the 
greatest extremities. Yet, though almost always defeated in 
battle, he contrived to retrieve his losses, and extended his 
dominions: the weakness of the Egyptian and Syrian mon- 
archies, induced by their constant wars, was favorable to his 
enterpiises. For six years during his reign, Judsea suffered 
all the horrors of a civil war. Fie fled to the mountains, but 
a sudden revulsion of popular feeling took place in his favor, 
and he found himself at the head of 60,000 men. Bis ven- 
geance was signal and terrible. He publicly crucified 800 of 
his opponents, and slew their wives and children before their 
faces. 

The two great religious and political factions that distracted 
the State, were those of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The 
origin and growth of these violent parties, that were the con-, 
stant source of fierce and dangerous dissensions, are involved 
in obscurity. The [Maccabees had greatly owed their success 
to the Chasidim, or righteous, as they called themselves; and 
these degenerated into the haughty, tyrannical, and censorious 
Pharisees. They regarded themselves the only faithful ser- 
vants of God. As God, they said, had conquerd by them, so 
he ruled by them, and the Sadducees and other sects were the 
enemies of the national religion, the national constitution, and 
the national Deity. — The better order among the opponents of 
the Pharisees were the Karaites, strict adherents to the letter 
of the law, but decidedly rejecting all traditions. The great 
strength of the party, however, consisted of the Sadducees, 
who asserted free will ; whilst the Pharisees were predestina- 
rians. The Pharisees believed in the immortality of the soul, 
and the existence of angels. The Sadducees denied both. 
The Pharisees received not merely the law and the prophets, 
but the traditional law likewise, and regarded it as of equal 
authority with the law of Moses. The Sadducees, if they did 
not reject, considered the prophets greatly inferior to the law. 

Alexandra, the widow of the late king, who had reigned 
twenty-seven years, adopting his advice, deserted the Saddu- 
cean faction, and threw himself on the protection of the Phari- 
saic party, powerful on account of their turbulence and num- 
bers, and still more from having the people entirely under their 
direction. The son (of the late unpopular king) Hyrcanus 



346 HISTORICAL READER. 

was immediately elevated to the high priesthood, and the Sad- 
ducean party, the staunch supportersof Alexander, were every 
where persecuted. After an energetic reign of nine years, she 
expired. Her younger son Aristobulus placed himself at the 
head of the opposite party, and Hyrcanus being besieged in 
the palace of Baris, consented to yield up the sovereignty. 
But Antipater, the father of Herod, an Idumean of noble birth, 
was the son of x\ntipas, who had been governor of that pro- 
vince under Alexander Jannaeus. Having acquired great 
influence over the mind of Hyrcanus, he persuaded him to fly 
to Aretas, the king of Arabia. Aretas marched a host of 
50,000 men against Aristobulus, and defeated him. At this 
time, Pompey the Great appeared in Judrea, Jerusalem was 
taken, and the country reduced to a Roman province.— In the 
reign of Vespasian, the Jews, attempting to throw of the yoke, 
(A. D. 71,) were subdued with dreadful slaughter, their city 
and temple razed, so that mi one stone was left upon another; 
and they have ever since been dispersed over the face of the 
whole earth. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



EGYPT. 

Egypt became a Roman province after the defeat of 
Cleopatra, at the battle of Actium, B. C. 30; and continued 
a part of the Roman empire, till it was conquered by the 
Saracens, 640. 

Egypt was divided into Superior and Inferior. It is 
bounded by the 'Mediterranean on the north; by the Red 
Sea and the Isthmus of Suez, which divide it from Arabia, 
on the east; by Abyssinia or Ethiopia, on the south ; and by 
the desert of Barea and Nubia, on the west, being 600 miles 
in length from north to south, and from 100 to 2C0 in breadth 
from east to west. 

The chief cities in Upper Egypt were Memphis, the ancient 
capital on the Nile, about 100 miles from its mouth, ar^d 15 
miles above its division into different streams, near the place 
where Grand Cairo, the present capital, stands; Thebes, famous 
for its hundred gates, nearly 200 miles above Memphis; and 
below it, Coptos, the emporium of Indian and Arabian com- 
modities, which were brought from various parts of the east 
to Bernice or Myos Hormos, two ports on the Arabian Gulf, 
and transported thence on camels in twelve days to Coptos. 

Near Memphis stood the famous Pyramids, the most stu- 
pendous buiidings in the world, supposed to have been the 
burial place of the ancient kings of Egypt. The base of the 
large pyramid is about 700 feet square, and the height 450; 
the corresponding admeasurements of the second and third 
pyramids are 650 feet and 280, and 400 and 160. The ex- 
traordinary height is combined with imperishable stability and 
solidity, the whole being nearly one entire mass of the hardest 
materials, f,r the inner galleries and chambers form but mere 
veins and cavities compared with the entire structure. In the 
great pyramid, three chambers, hitherto undiscovered, have 
been lately opened and explored. The largest measuring 38 
feet by 17; the second 38 feet 9 inches by 16 feet 8 inches. 



348 HISTORIC/YL READER. 

These chambers vary as to height, and the blocks of granite 
which form the ceiling of ihe one below, serve as a pavement 
to the next above it. Near the pyramids are the Mummy- 
Pits, or subterraneous vaults of great extent, with niches in the 
sides for containing embalmed bodids. 

Belzoni says, Gournou is a tract of rocks about two miles in 
length, at the foot of the Lybian mountains, on the west of 
Thebes, and was the burial place of the great city of a hundred 
gates. Every part of these rocks is cut out by art, in the form 
of large and small chambers, each of which has its separate 
entrance; and, though they are very close to each other, it is 
seldom that there is any interior communication from one to 
another. 

The suffocating air of many of these tombs often causes 
fainting. A vast quantity of dust rises, so fine that it enters 
into the throat and nostrils, and chokes the nose and mouth to 
such a degree, that it requires great powers of lungs to resist 
it and the strong effluvia of the mummies. The passage 
where the bodies are, is roughly cut in the rocks. In some 
places there is not more than a vacancy of a foot left, and the 
passage is nearly filled up by the falling of the sand from the 
upper part. At the end of one of these passages, some of them 
two or three hundred yards long, there is generally a place 
high enough to sit. But, in sitting down, my weight bore on 
the body of an Egyptian, and it crushed like a band b^x; and 
sank anions the broken mummies, which raised a suffocating 
dust. As I went on I was covered with bones, legs, arms, and 
heads rolling from above. The object of my visit was to rob 
the mummies of the papyrus, of which f found a few hidden 
under their arms, and covered by numerous folds of cloth. 

Among these tombs we saw some which contained the 
mummies of bulls, cows, sheep, monkeys, foxes, bats, croco- 
diles, and birds, intermixed with human bodies. Idols often 
occur, and one tomb was filled with cats, carefully folded 
in red and white linen, the head covered by a mask, rep- 
resenting a cat. 

There are mummies folded in a manner different from the 
others, (probably priests;) the bandages are stripes of red and 
white linen intermixed, covering th<- whole body. The arms 
and legs are bandaged separately, even the ringers and toes 
being preserved distinct. I have seen one that had the 
eyes and eyebrows of enamel, beautifully executed in imita- 
tion of nature. — The dwelling place of the natives is in the 
passages. 



HISTORICAL READER. 349 

Above Memphis, on the west of the river, were the cities 
Acanthus and Arsinoe, which gave name to a district in which 
was the lake Mseris, of immense extent, dug to contain the 
waters of the Nile, when it rose too high, and communicate 
with it by canals. 

Near this lake was the famous Labyrinth, consisting, ac- 
cording to Herodotus, of twelve palaces and three hundred 
houses, built of marble, under ground, or covered over, 
communicating with one another, by innumerable winding 
passages. 

The frontier of Egypt towards Ethiopia were Syene ; Ele- 
phantine, in an island of the Nile, and Philre. Below Syene 
stood Ombi and Tentyra. About four miles above Elephantina 
is the lowest cataract of the Nile; above this there are several 
other cataracts. 

The principal part of Lower Egypt was included between 
the eastern and western branches of the Nile. It was called 
by the Greeks Delta, from its resemblance to the triangular 
form of the Greek letter. Near the mouth of the eastern 
channel stood Pelusium, now Damietta, the ancient key of 
Egypt ; and at the mouth of the western channel, about 100 
miles from the former, Canopus, near which is now Rosetta. 
The capital of the Delta in ancient times was Sais; and near 
it, Naucratis. 

About thirty miles west from this, stood the celebrated city of 
Alexandria, now Scanderoon, opposite to the island of Pharos, 
which was joined to the continent by a mole or causeway, nearly 
a mile long. On this stood the famous light tower, which might 
be seen 100 miles off. 

E^ypt became the great granary of the Roman empire. Its 
fertility is owing to the annual overflowing of the Nile, which 
is occasioned by periodical rains*in Ethiopia or Abyssinia, from 
the latter end of May to September. The usual height to which 
it rises is sixteen cubits, or about twenty-eight feet. . The river 
continues muddy for six months, and, during the three which 
immediately precede the inundation, the stream being low, be- 
comes heated, green, fetid, and full of worms. 

The climate, during the greater part of the year, is salu- 
brious; the hot wind in April and May is oppressive, but 
the summer heat is accompanied by a refreshing northerly 
breeze. 

That the reader may form an idea of this country, let him 

30 



350 HISTORICAL READER. 

imagine on one side a narrow sea and rocks; on the other 
immense plains of sand ; and in the middle a river, flowing 
through a valley of one hundred and fifty leagues in length, 
and from three to seven wide, which, at the distance of thirty 
leagues from the sea, separates into two arms ; the branches of 
which wander over a soil almost free from obstacles, and void 
of declivity. 

Egypt is one of the oldest kingdoms in the world. Here 
the children of Israel were held in slavery from the death of 
Joseph, in 1635, to 1491 B. C. In 1445 Lower Egypt was 
conquered by the Canaanites, who fled from Joshua, when he 
dispossessed them of their own country. Upper Egypt was 
divided at this time into a great number of kingdoms, which 
were united under Misphragmuthosis, about 1157; and the 
Canaanites, or shepherd kings, as they are called, were driven 
out of Egypt by Amosis in 1070. About 1000 Sesac or Se- 
sostris, the most illustrious of the Egyptian monarchs, made 
rapid and very extensive conquests, carrying his arms as far 
as Spain to the west, and of India to the east. On his return 
to his capital, he is said to have harnessed the captive kings, 
four abreast, to his chariot. Yet all his conquests gave him 
no satisfaction; he found that all was vanity and vexation of 
spirit; and he put an end to his own life. 

In 947 the Ethiopians plundered Egypt; 944 they retired 
to Memphis, being driven thither by Osarsiphus, who was 
made king of lower Egypt; but in 930 the Ethiopians again 
conquered the whole. In 788 Egypt was divided into several 
small kingdoms, and in 751 Sabacon, the Ethiopian, conquered 
it. In 671 it was subdued by Aberhaddon, king of Assyria, 
but in 688 it revolted from the Assyrians. In 655 Psamme- 
ticus became king of all Egypt, by the reduction of eleven other 
princes, who had reigned along with him. 

Nebuchadnezzer, king of Babylon, conquered this country in 
566, but towards the end of this monarchy, the Egyptians 
recovered their liberty. They seem to have been subject to 
Cyrus about 534; but, probably rebelling, were reduced by 
Cambyses in 526 ; and though Egypt several times revolted, 
it was always recovered by the Persians, and was part of that 
empire when Alexander the Great put an end to it in 331 
B. C. The next period, to the time when Egypt was subdued 
by the Romans, is the reign of the Ptolemies, the successors of 
one of Alexander's generals. 



HISTORICAL READER. 351 

Egypt has claimed the honor of being the first seat of 
learning, and the fountain whence the streams of philosophy 
flowed to Chaldea, and other Asiatic nations. Though these 
high pretensions may be without foundation, Egypt was 
certainly very early famous for wisdom. Many eminent 
philosophers among the Greeks, such as Orpheus, Thales, 
Pythagoras, Democritus, and Plato visited Egypt in search 
of knowledge, and the illustrious legislator of the Hebrews 
was "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." 

The history of Egyptian learning and philosophy is involved 
in obscurity. Knowledge was communicated by the Egyptian 
priests under the concealment of symbolical characters or hiero- 
glyphics, the key of which was intrusted only to the initiated, 
and has since been irrecoverably lost. (The sacred letters 
were called hieroglyphics, because they expressed thought by 
the figures of certain animals, of the members of the human 
body, &e. Thus, a hawk was put for velocity; a hare for 
lively attention ; a crocodile for all kinds of malice; the right 
hand, with the fingers extended, for liberality ; and the left 
hand, with the fingers compressed, for stinginess.) At the time 
when Egyptian wisdom first flourished, different dogmas were 
taught in different schools at Thebes, Memphis, &c, which 
has occasioned great diversities in the accounts given of the 
Egyptians by Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus, and Plutarch. 
At a later period, when Alexandria became the common resort 
of learned men from every part of the world, the conlbinations 
oftbeir opinions, with those of the native Egyptians give phi- 
losophy and religion a form till then unknown. The Greek 
writers, the chief authorities, have confounded, in many in- 
stances, the gods of the Egyptians with their own mythology, 
and have, on slight .resemblances, concluded Osiris to be Jupi- 
ter, Typhon to be Pluto, &c 

No nation was ever more superstitious than the Egyptians, 
who worshipped not only a multiplicity of deities, as Isis, Osiris, 
Aniibis, Serapis, but a variety of animals, as the ox, the dog, 
the cat, the hawk, the ibis, the wolf, the crocodile, and even 
certain vegetables, as leeks and onions, which led Juvenal to 
exclaim, "O, holy nation, in whose gardens even deities are 
born." To slay any of these sacred animals by design was 
a capital offence. But one city or. district worshipped one 
species of animals as gods, which another held in abomina- 
tion. Isis and Osiris were the only gods whom they all 
agreed to worship. Isis is supposed to represent the moon, 



352 HISTORICAL READER. 

and Osiris the sun. In imitation of the Egyptian idolatry, 
probably, Aaron made the golden calf, and Jeroboam the 
calves of Dan and Bethel. 

The Egyptian Thoth was probably some man of superior 
genius before the time of Moses. The Egyptian priests had 
the reputation of extraordinary sanctity, and were even sup- 
posed to participate of the divinity. They obtained great 
sway over the people, and possessed no small influence in 
civil affairs. 

The sciences of geometry and astronomy had made some 
progress among them ; and to the Egyptians is ascribed the 
invention of music and the origin of the medical art. In the 
fictitious sciences of astrology and magic, they were adepts. 
One of the most ancient sects of the Magi had its origin among 
the Egyptians. They made use of small images of various 
forms, with which they pretended to perform many wonders, 
and particularly to cure diseases.- The image of Harpocrates, 
an astronomical divinity, was hung from the neck, or worn in 
a ring on the finger, as an amulet. 

The Egyptian theology or philosophy was of two kinds, the 
one exoteric, addressed to the people ; the other, esoteric, 
confined to a select number of the priests, and to those who 
possessed or were to possess, regal power. The mysterious 
nature of their concealed doctrine was symbolically expressed 
by images of sphinxes placed at the entrance of their temples. 
The exoteric religion consisted, as has been stated, in the 
grossest and most irrational superstitions. — It is probable 
that those objects, which were at first introduced into their 
religious rites merely as emblems or symbols of invisible 
divinities, became themselves, in process of time, objects of 
worship. 

Concerning the esoteric, or philosophical doctrine of the 
Egyptians, it seems evident, in the first place, that they con- 
ceived matter to be the first principle of things, and that before 
the regular forms of nature arose, an eternal chaos had existed, 
which contained, in a state of darkness and confusion, all the 
materials of future beings. This Chaos, which was also 
called night, was, in the most ancient times, worshipped as 
one of the superior divinities. 

Besides this material principle, they admitted an active prin- 
ciple, or intelligent power, eternally united with the chaotic 
mass, by whose energy the elements were separated, and bo- 
dies formed. This opinion was accompanied with a belief ia 



HISTORICAL READER. 353 

inferior divinities. Conceiving emanations from the divinity 
to be resident in various parts of nature; when they saw life, 
motion, and enjoyment communicated to the inhabitants of the 
earth from the sun, and, as they supposed, from other heavenly 
bodies, they ascribed these effects to the influence of certain 
divinities, derived from the first deity, which they supposed to 
inhabit these bodies. Hence arose the worship of the sun, 
under the names of Osiris, Ammon, and Horus; of the moon, 
under those of Isis, Bubastis, and Buto; of the Cabiri, or 
planets, &c. 

From the same source, it may be easily conceived that, 
among the Egyptians, as w T eli as in other nations, would arise 
the worship of deified men. When they saw their illustrious 
heroes, or legislators, protecting their country by their prowess, 
or improving human life by useful inventions and institutions, 
they concluded that a large portion of that divinity, which ani- 
mates all things, resided in them, and supposed that after their 
death, the good dsemon that animated them passed into the 
society of their divinities. In this manner it may be conceived 
that the worship of heroes would spring up together with that 
of the heavenly bodies. But whether the former did in fact 
prevail among the Egyptians, is a question which has been 
much disputed, and still remains undecided. 

The opinion of the Egyptians concerning the human soul is 
very differently represented by different writers. They appear 
to have believed it to be immortal; and Herodotus says, they 
were the first people who taught the doctrine. He mentions 
the custom of bringing the characters of the deceased under a 
public trial, and offering up prayers to the gods in behalf of 
those who were adjudged to have lived virtuously, that they 
might be admitted into the society of good men. It has been 
a subject of debate, into what place, according to the Egyptian 
doctrine, the souls of men passed after death. Plutarch speaks 
of the Amenthes of the Egyptians, corresponding to the Hades 
of the Greeks, a subterraneous region, to which the souls of 
dead men were conveyed. Herodotus £ives it as the opinion 
of the Egyptians, that, when the body decays, the soul passes 
into some animal, which is then born; and that after it has 
made the circuit of beasts, birds, and fishes, through a period 
of three thousand years, it again becomes the inhabitant of a 
human body. 

30* 



354 HISTORICAL READER. 

These different notions concerning the state of the soul after 
death, were probably held by different colleges of priests, some 
of whom were advocates for the doctrine of transmigration, 
while others held, that the souls of good men, after wandering 
for a time among the stars, were permitted to return to the 
society of the gods. 



CHAPTER XXX. 



HX3T0RY OF PHILOSOPHY. 



In order to understand the Philosophy of the Romans, and 
the opinions of the different Sects of Philosophy which rose up 
in the city and various parts of the Republic, it is necessary to 
consider the Philosophy and most eminent Sects of the Greeks, 
from whom the Romans borrowed their religion and their 
metaphysical and moral notions. 

The Greeks were distinguished almost from the infancy of 
their civilization by the pursuit of wisdom and learning. 
Greece was first civilized by colonies from Egypt, Phoenicia, 
and Thrace. The aspect of philosophy was very different 
in different parts of Greece. Phoroneus and Cecrops being 
Egyptians, Cadmus a Phoenician, and Orpheus a Thracian, 
each of these would, of course, bring into Greece, with his 
several colonies, the religious and philosophical tenets of his 
respective nations, and thus lay the foundation of diversity of 
opinion. 

The practice of delivering the doctrines of religion to the 
people under the disguise of fable, which universally prevailed 
in Egypt, and was not unknown to the Phoenicians, Thracians, 
and other nations, was introduced among the Greeks by the 
first founders of their states. " It was not possible,' 1 says 
Strabo, " to lead a promiscuous multitude to religion and 
virtue by philosophical harangues; this could only be effected 
by the aid of superstition, by prodigies and fables. The 
thunderbolt, the segis, the trident, the spear, torches and 
snakes, were the instruments made use of by the founders 
of states to terrify the ignorant vulgar into subjection." 

That the first authors of the Grecian fables meant them as 
vehicles of instruction cannot be doubted. But it is now be- 
come exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to decipher their 
meaning. The Grecian mythology arose from a variety of 
sources. Of these, the two principal were the custom of 



356 HISTORICAL READER. 

ranking public benefactors, after their death, among the gods? 
and the practice of applying allegories and fables to natural 
objects and appearances. 

A veil of obscurity was cast over the fabulous philosophy 
of the Greeks by the custom, which in early times prevailed, 
of giving their mythological doctrines a poetical dress. 

The first of the Greeks, who is said to have taught philoso- 
phy and the arts, is Prometheus, who was an Egyptian or 
Scythian, and instructed the Greeks in several necessary 
arts, particular!} 7 in the use of fire for the purpose of melting 
metals, and who, afiervvards, suffering captivity, was rescued 
by Hercules. 

Linus, who lived before the time of Homer, was amongst the 
first authors of Grecian verse. He wrote a cosmogony, was 
an eminent master of music, and is said to have invented Lyric 
poetry; and to have instructed Hercules, Thamyris, and Or- 
pheus. Orpheus is the most celebrated of all the Greeks in 
the fabulous ages, and distinguished himself as a teacher of 
religion and philosophy. His name is as illustrious among 
the Greeks, as that of Zoroaster among the Persians, of Bud- 
das among the Indians, or of Thoth or Hermes, among the 
Egyptians. He is said to have improved the Lyre, by in- 
creasing the number of its strings from four to seven. To 
him is ascribed the invention of hexameter verse. Pie pos- 
sessed great skill in the art of medicine, which may serve to 
explain the fable of his recalling his wife Eurydice from hell — 
a fable most beautifully embellished by Virgil. After his 
death, he was ranked among the divinities. He was probably 
the author of the Eleusinian andPanathoean mysteries. There 
are some fragments of the works of Orpheus remaining, from 
which we make the following extract: "Jupiter, hiding all 
things within himself, at length sent forth divine productions 
from his bosom into cheerful light." The planets and the 
moon, he conceived to be habitable worlds, and to be ani- 
mated by divinities. He taught the immortality of the soul, 
the future punishment of the wicked, and the happiness of 
the good. 

The most celebrated of his disciples was Musseus, an Athe- 
nian philosopher and poet. He taught that all things proceed 
from one source, and will be resolved into the same, which is 
the first principle of the system of emanation, and the founda- 
tion of all the ancient theogonies. His son Eumolpus followed 
his steps, and wrote concerning the mysteries of Ceres. Tham- 



HISTORICAL READER. 357 

yris and Amphion were, at this period, famous for their skill 
in music and poetry. 

Not inferior to Amphion in fame was Melampus, an Argive, 
who flourished before the Trojan war. He instructed his 
countrymen in augury and the arts of divination. He was 
famous for his medical skill, and made use of magical incan- 
tations. Of the ancient theogonies which remain, the most 
celebrated is that of Hesiod. Chaos is spoken of as eternal ; 
the ancients had no idea of the doctrine of creation from 
nothing. Jupiter is not to be confounded with the supreme 
being, but merely to be considered as the chief of those inferior 
divinities, who, according to the Grecian theology, were either 
•portions of the Divinity, inhabiting or animating parts of na- 
ture, or departed spirits of heroes and illustrious men, exalted 
to divine honors. 

The sum of the doctrine of the theogonies, divested of alle- 
gory and poetry is as follows :— The first matter, containing 
the seeds of all future being, existed from eternity with God. 
At length, the divine energy upon matter produced a motion 
among its parts, by which those of the same kind were brought 
together, and those of a different kind were separated, and by 
which, according to certain wise laws, the various forms of the 
material world were produced. The same energy of emanation 
gave existence to animals and men, and to gods who inhabit 
the heavenly bodies, and various other parts of nature. Among 
men, those who possess a larger portion of the divine nature 
than others, are hereby impelled to great and benificent ac- 
tions, and afford illustrious proofs of their divine original, on 
account of which they are after death raised to a place among 
the gods, and become objects of religious worship. Upon the 
basis of these notions, it is easy to conceive, that the whole 
mythological rites and mysteries of the Greeks, might be 
founded. 

Epimenides was a Cretan, of whom marvellous fables are 
related. It is said that he slept for fifty years ; that he had 
the power of sending his soul out of his body, and recalling" 
it at pleasure ; and that he had familiar intercourse with the 
gods. 

Homer flourished about 912 B. C, before any other poet 
whose writings are now extant. Justin Martyr supposes that 
Homer borrowed many things from Moses; but his works 
were written as a display of poetical genius, without any design 
of delivering precepts of religion, philosophy, or the arts, far- 
ther than as they individually arose from his subject; and if 



358 HISTORICAL READER. 

the whole fable of Jupiter, as il is represented in his poems, be 
fairly examined, it will be very evident, that he had not jusl 
conceptions of the Divine Nature. 

Political Philosophy. — In the more settled state of soci- 
ety, religion was so far separated from policy, that its doctrines 
and ceremonies were committed to the charge of priests ; and 
the institution of laws, and the regulation of manners, were 
intrusted to men, whose superior wisdom and public spirit 
qualified them for the offices of legislation and magistracy* 
Among the numerous legislators of Greece, Zaleucus, the 
founder of the Locrian State, was one of the first. In his 
youth he lived in servitude, in the capacity of a shepherd, but 
his extraordinary abilities and merit obtained for him his free- 
dom, and, at length, raised him to the government. His laws 
were severe, but well adapted to the people, and their consti- 
tution was for several ages highly celebrated. His name may 
be placed at the head of the noble friends of humanity, who 
are now regenerating the world by the advocacy of Temper- 
ance principles. He strictly prohibited the use of wine. When 
his son had subjected himself to the penalty of the loss of his 
eyes, he shared the penalty with the offender; and that he 
might only be deprived of one eye, submitted to lose one of 
his own. 

The first legislator of Athens was Triptolemus. His laws 
becoming obsolete, or being found insufficient for the regula- 
tion of the State, Draco, 624 B. C, instituted a new code, so 
exceedingly rigorous, that they are said to have been written 
with blood. The severity of this discipline was afterwards 
relaxed by Solon, 559 B. C, who framed an entirely new 
constitution, to which Athens was principally indebted for its 
subsequent glory. The republic of Sparta was established by 
Lycurgus, 926 B. C, whose laws were issued as the edicts of 
Apollo,- and were delivered in verse by Thales, Tyrtseus, and 
Terpander. 

The wise men of this period employed themselves in framing 
concise precepts and maxims for the conduct of life; they 
sometimes met together, and agreed to send such sentences as 
were thought most valuable to Delphi, to be inscribed in the 
temple. Plain good sense and practical wisdom had not then 
been taught to give way to useless subtleties. The following 
are among the apophthegms and precepts which have been 
ascribed to the seven wise men of Greece: — 

He who has learned to obey, will know how to command. 
I« nil things let reason be your guide. Diligently contemplate 



HISTORICAL READER. 359 

excellent things. In every thing that you do, consider the 
end. Three things are difficult; to keep a secret; to bear an 
injury patiently; and to spend leisure well. Visit your friend 
in misfortune, rather than in prosperity. Never ridicule the 
unfortunate. Think before you speak. Desire not impossi- . 
bilities. Gold is tried by the touchstone, and men are tried 
by gold. Honest loss is preferable to shameful gain; for, by 
the one, a man is a sufferer but once; by the other, always. 
Speak no evil of the dead. Reverence the aged. Know thy- 
self. Power discovers the man. Whatever* you do, do it 
well. Be watchful for opportunities. Do not that to your 
neighbor which you would take ill from him. ' Carry ali your 
treasures with you. Be not unmindful of the miseries of others. 
If you are handsome, do handsome things; if deformed, supply 
the defects of nature by your virtues. Be slow in undertaking, 
but resolute in executing. Praise not a worthless man for the 
sake of his wealth. Whatever good you do, ascribe it to 
God. Lay in wisdom as the store for your journey from 
youth to old age, for it is the most certain possession. Happy 
is the family, where the master is more loved than feared. 
When you go abroad, consider what you have to do; when 
you return home, what you have done. Marry among your 
equals, that you may not become a slave to your wife's rela- 
tions. Be more desirous to hear than to speak. Avoid ex- 
cess. Pleasure is precarious, but virtue is immortal. Study 
to be worthy of your parents. There is nothing which pru- 
dence cannot accomplish. 

The Ionic Sect. — We have now to observe Greece in 
that more advanced age, in which it passed from traditionary 
opinion, and sententious wisdom, to more accurate specula- 
tions and reasonings. 

Two eminent philosophers arose about the same period, who 
may be considered as the fountains from which philosophy 
flowed, not only through Greece, but through all other coun- 
tries in which the Greek language was spoken, and Rome in 
which Greek literature was cultivated. These gave rise to 
distinct classes of philosophers, who, because they followed 
the tenets, and the method of philosophising, which had been 
received by some one master, and rejected all others, have 
been usually denominated Sects. One of these fathers of the 
sectarian philosophy was Thales, B. C. 540. He began to 
philosophise at Miletus in Ionia: and from his school sprung up 
not only the Ionic sect, but that of Socrates and his disciples, from 
whom arose the several sects of Academics, Cyrenaics, Eristics, 



360 HISTORICAL READER. 

Peripatetics, Cynics, and Stoics. — The other was Pythagoras, 
the Samian, who not only founded the Pythagorean school in 
Magna Grecia, but gave occasion to the institution of several 
other sects, particularly the Eleatic, the Heraclitic, the Epi- 
curean, and the Pyrrhonic* The sect founded by Thales, with 
all its branches, is called the Ionic School: the sects immedi- 
ately or more remotely derived from Pythagoras are called the 
Italic School. 

Thales was not only famous for his knowledge of nature 
and his mathematical learning, but for his moral and political 
wisdom. Pie taught that water is the first principle in nature; 
that the magnet and amber are endued with a soul; that all 
nature is full of daemons, or intelligences. Some have doubted 
whether he admitted an intelligent, efficient cause. He was 
so well acquainted with ihe celestial motions, as to be able to 
predict an eclipse. 

Anaximander, 530 B. C, cherished the seeds of science 
which Thales had sown. He was the first who committed the 
principles of natural sciencee to writing. His general doc- 
trine was, " that infinity is the first principle of all things, in 
which they all terminate." But what he meant is not known. 
He was the first who undertook to delineate Ihe surface of the 
earth, and mark the divisions of land and water upon an arti- 
ficial globe. The invention of the sun-dial is ascribed to him. 
Pliny says that he was the first who observed the obliquity of 
the ecliptic, but this cannot be true, if Thales was acquainted 
with the method of predicting eclipses, which supposes the 
knowledge of this obliquity. He taught that the earth is a 
globe placed in the middle of the universe, and remains in its 
place. 

Anaximines was a pupil of Anaximander. He taught that 
the first principle of all things is Air, which he maintained to 
be God. Attentive to material causes, he was silent concern- 
ing the nature of the Divine mind. He taught that the stars 
are fiery substances, fixed in the heavens, as nails in a crys- 
talline plane. 

Atfaxagoras was his disciple. He said concerning himself, 
u that he was born to contemplate the heavens." Being re- 
proached for neglecting his estate and the welfare of his 
country, he replied, pointing to heaven, " my first care is for 
my country." He taught philosophy in private at Athens, and 
among his pupils were Euripides the tragedian, and Pericles 
the statesman, and some add Themistocles and Socrates. 
His reputation excited the jealousy of his contemporaries, and 



HISTORICAL READER. 361 

brought upon him a cruel persecution. He taught that the 
sun was inanimate, and not a proper object of worship, and 
was accused of impiety. When one of his friends expressed 
regret oa account of his banishment from Athens, he said, 
" It is not I who have lost the Athenians, but the Athenians 
who have lost me." He was the first among the Greeks who 
conceived mind as detached from matter, and as acting upon 
it with intelligence, and design in the formation of the universe. 
He is said to have believed that the moon is an opaque body, 
enlightened by the sun, and a habitable region, divided into 
hills, vales, and waters. 

Anaxagoras was succeeded by Diogenes Apollonates. He 
was also persecuted on account of his opinions. He seems to 
have Conceived the infinite ether to be animated by a Divine 
Mind, and all things to be formed from this compound principle. 
Archelaus, of Miletus, was his most distinguished disciple. He 
is said to have taught, that the two principles of things are air 
and infinity; that the universe is unlimited ; that heat is the 
cause of motion, and cold of rest; that animals have souls, 
which differ in their powers, according to the structure of the 
bodies in which they reside. It cannot be determined, whether 
he admitted a distinct and independent Deity, the author of 
nature. Concerning morals, he is said to have taught, that 
the distinction between right and wrong is not founded in na- 
ture, but in arbitrary law, a doctrine which scepticism after- 
wards broached at a much later period. Socrates was one of 
his disciples. Under Socrates philosophy assumed a new 
character; so that Archelaus may be considered as the last 
preceptor of the original Tonic school. 

Socratic School. — The philosophers of the Ionic school, 
industriously employed in investigating the nature and origin 
of things, paid little attention to those subjects in which the 
happiness of human life is immediately concerned. Socrates 
corrected this error, and introduced a method of philosophising 
which was calculated to improve the human mind and cherish 
the virtues of social life. He conceived the true end of phi- 
losophy to be, not to make an ostentatious display of superior 
learning and ability in subtle disputations, or ingenious conjec- 
tures, but to free mankind from the dominion of pernicious 
prejudices; to correct their vices; to inspire them with the love 
of virtue, and thus to conduct them in the path of wisdom to 
true felicity. He, therefore, assumed the character of a moral 
philosopher; and looking upon the whole city of Athens as his 
school, and all who were disposed to lend him their attention 

31 



362 HISTORICAL EEADEE. 

as his pupils, he seized every occasion of communicating moral 
wisdom to his fellow citizens. 

The method of instruction, which Socrates chiefly made use 
of, was, to propose a series of questions to the person with 
whom he conversed, in order to lead him to some unforeseen 
conclusion. He first gained the consent of his respondent to 
some obvious truths, and then obliged them to admit others, 
from their relation or resemblance, to those to which they had 
already assented. Without making use of any direct argu- 
ment or persuasion, he chose to lead the person he meant to 
instruct, to deduce the truths of which he wished to convince 
him, as a necessary consequence from his own concessions. 
He common[y conducted these conferences with such address, 
as to conceal his design, till the respondent had advanced too 
far to recede. On some occasions, he made use of ironical 
language, that vain men might be caught in their own replies, 
and be obliged to confess their ignorance. He never assumed 
the air of a morose and rigid preceptor, but communicated 
useful instruction with all the ease and pleasantry of polite 
conversation. 

He was not less distinguished for his modesty than by his 
wisdom. He professed " to know only this, that he knew 
nothing." His favorite maxim was, " Whatever is above us, 
does not concern us." He estimated the value of knowledge 
by its utility. His great object was to lead men into an ac- 
quaintance with themselves. And Cicero says of him, "He 
was the first who called down philosophy from heaven to 
earth, and introduced her into the public walks and domestic 
retirements of men, that she might instruct them concerning 
life and manners." 

Socrates left nothing behind him in writing; but his illus- 
trious pupils, Xenophon and Plato, have, in some measure, 
supplied the defect. Socrates admitted the existence of a Su- 
preme Divinity, but also believed in the existence of beings 
who possess a middle station between God and man, to whose 
immediate agency he ascribed the ordinary phenomena of na- 
ture, and whom he supposed to be particularly concerned in 
the management of human affairs. He admitted the worship 
of inferior divinities, and declared it to be the duly of every 
one, in the performance of religious rites, to follow the customs 
of his country. And Socrates himself, as his last request to 
one of his friends, begged that he would sacrifice for him a 
cock to Esculapius. Socrates is represented as maintaining 
that the human soul is allied to the Divine Being, not by a 



HISTORICAL READER. 363 

participation of essence, but by a similarity of nature. And 
yet, though he expressed a belief and expectation of immor- 
tality, it is evident from the account given of his opinions, that 
he was not wholly free from uncertainty. 

He taught that true felicity is not to be derived from exter- 
nal possessions, but from wisdom, which consists in the know- 
ledge and practice of virtue; that the cultivation of virtuous 
conduct is necessarily attended with pleasure as well as profit; 
that the honest man alone is happy ; and that it is absurd to 
attempt to separate things, which are in nature so closely united 
as virtue and interest. 

Of the followers of Socrates we can take notice only of a 
few. Xenophon was the most respectable, and he preserved 
many of the conversations of his preceptor, in his Memorabilia. 
His writings are considered perfect models of purity, simplicity, 
and harmony of language. jEchines devoted himself to the 
pursuit of wisdom under the tuition of Socrates, and became 
second only to Demosthenes in eloquence. Simon wrote down 
many of the conversations which passed in his hearing, in his 
shop, which Socrates often visited. When Pericles invited 
Simon to reside with him, under the promise of ample recom- 
pense, he refused, saying, "that he would not sell the liberty 
of speaking his mind at any price" Cebes deserves to be 
mentioned on account of his beautiful allegory, entitled, "A 
Picture of Human Life." — At this time, flourished Timon, of 
Athens, whom Shakspeare has immortalized. 

Many sects arose from the school of Socrates, holding 
opinions essentially different from each other, and deviating 
widely from their master's doctrine, yet affecting to call them- 
selves Socratic philosophers. The inferior sects in the Ionic 
succession were the Cyrenaic, the Megaric, and the Eliac or 
Eretriac Those of higher celebrity were the Academic and 
the Cynic, from which latter arose the Peripatetic and the 
Stoic. 

The Cyrenaic sect was founded by Aristippus of Cyrene in 
Africa. His natural disposition leaned more strongly towards 
pleasure than was consistent with the strictness of Socratic 
morals, yet he must be allowed the credit of elegant manners, 
a thirst after knowledge, ready wit, and an ingenuous temper. 
His captivating manners, united with a wonderful power of 
managing the humors of the tyrant Dionysius of Syracuse, 
gave him the command of the royal favor. Several of his 
maxims and observations are not unworthy of the Socratic 
school, though he did not himself adhere to his own precepts. 



364 HISTORICAL READER. 

"If there were no laws, a wise man would live honesty, it 
is better to be poor than illiterate; for the poor man only 
wants money, the illiterate want the distinguishing character- 
istics of human nature. The truly learned are not they who 
read much, but they who read what is useful. Young people 
should be taught those things which will be useful to them 
when they become men." 

He agteed with Socrates, in dismissing as wholly unprofita- 
ble, all those speculations which have no connection with the 
conduct of life ; and yet, some of bis principles, if reduced to 
practice, would defeat the great end of our present existence. 
The distinguishing tenets of his system are as follows: 

Perceptions alone are certain; of the external objects which 
produce them, we know nothing. No one can be assured that 
the perception excited in his mind is similar to that which is 
excited by the same object in the mind of another person. 
Happiness consists not in tranquillity or indolence, but in a 
pleasing agitation of the mind, or active enjoyment. Pleasure 
is the ultimate object of human pursuit; it is in subserviency 
to this, that fame, friendship, and even virtue, are to be de- 
sired. Nothing is just or unjust by nature, but by custom and 
law, &c. 

After his death, his doctrine was taught by his daughter, 
Arete. The unsatisfactory and miserable consequences of the 
doctrine, that pleasure ought to be the great object of human 
pursuit, was exhibited by one of his disciples, who wrote a 
book to prove that death is the greatest good. Theodorus, 
another of his followers, was put to death on the accusation 
of Atheism. The Cyrenaic sect gradually declined, but was 
revived in a more philosophic form by the Epicureans. 

The Megaric or Eristic Sect. — Euclid of Mega r a (not 
the Mathematician) was the founder of this sect. From its 
disputatious character, it was called the Eristic. Debates 
were conducted among his pupils with violent contention. 
Euclid was averse to the analogical method of reasoning, and 
judged that legitimate argumentation consists in deducing fair 
conclusions from acknowledged premises. Fie held that there 
is one supreme good, which he called by the different names 
of Intelligence, Providence, God; and that evil, considered as 
an opposite principle to the sovereign good, has no physical 
existence. When asked his opinion concerning the gods, 
he replied, " I know only this, that they hate inquisitive 
persons." 

He was succeeded by Eubulides of Miletus, who was a 



historical reader. 365 

strenuous opponent of Aristotle, and seized every occasion of 
censuring his writings and calumniating his character. — 
(Modern Deists have endeavored to cast a reflection on Reve- 
lation, in their remarks oil. the unchantableness exhibited by 
many polemic theologians, whilst they have overlooked the 
bitter animosity, which characterized almost all the rival sects 
of philosophy.) He introduced new subtleties in the art of 
disputation, as, The Sophism: if, when you speak the truth, 
you say you lie — you lie: but you say you lie, when you speak 

the truth; therefore, in speaking the truth, you lie The 

Horned: you have what you have not lost; you have not lost 
horns ; therefore you have horns. 

Such sophisms were in high repute, and many books were 
written upon them. Another disciple of the same school, 
Diodorus of Caria, was a great adept in this kind of verbal 
combat, on which many philosophers exercised their ingenuity 
and mispent their time, and he invented the famous argument 
against motion. "If any body be moved, it is either moved 
in the place where it is, or in a place where it is not; but it is 
not moved in the place where it is, for where it is, it remains; 
nor is it moved in a place where it is not: therefore there is 
no such thing as motion. ' ? — Stilpo was another celebrat d dis- 
ciple of the same school. When required to mention the effects 
which he had lost when Megara was taken, he replied, "1 have 
lost nothing, for no one can take from me my learning, my 
eloquence, my principles." He is said to have taught that the 
highest felicity consists in a mind free from the dominion of 
passion. 

The Eliac School, of which Pha3do and Menedemus were 
the principal ornaments, seems to have adhered closely to the 
doctrine of Socrates. 

Academic Sect. — This School was founded by Plato, the 
most illustrious of the disciples of Sccrates. As long as phi- 
losophy continued to be studied among the Greeks and Romans, 
his doctrines were taught, and his name held in the highest 
veneration, and even in the present day, he has many follow- 
ers. He was born in the island of iEgina, and flourished 348 
B. C. He attended upon Socrates eight years. Plato began 
a speech in defence of Socrates before his judges, but was not 
allowed to proceed. The substance of the conversation of 
Socrates, which he held after his condemnation, Plato commit- 
ted to writing in the beautiful dialogue entitled Phsedojn which, 
however, he interweaves his own opinions. He studied astro- 
nomy and other sciences in Eixvpt, and many of the Fathers, 

31* 



366 HISTORICAL HfcADEK. 

(the early Christian writers,) maintain that he derived much 
of his philosophy from the Old Testament; a Greek transla- 
tion of which existed, some suppose, before the Septuagint, 
B. C. 270. He endeavored to improve his system by incor- 
porating with it the doctrine of Pythagoras, at that time taught 
in Magna Grsecia. 

Returning to Athens richly stored with knowledge of various 
kinds, he made choice of a public grove, called the Academy, 
and inscribed over the door of his school, " Let no one, who is 
unacquainted with geometry, enter here." Young men crowd- 
ed to his school from every quarter ; even females, disguised in 
men's clothes, often attended his lectures. Among the illustri- 
ous names which appear in the catalogue of his followers, are 
Dion, the Syracusan prince, and the orators Hyperides, Ly- 
curgus, Demosthenes, and Isocrates. Several States solicited 
his assistance in new modelling their respective forms of gov- 
ernment. Statues and altars were erected to his memory; and 
the day of his birth lo?»g continued to be celebrated as a festi- 
val by his followers. — It is recorded of him, that when he was 
lifting up his hand to correct his servant for some offence, per- 
ceiving himself to be angry, he kept his arm fixed in that 
position, and said to a friend, who asked him what he was 
doing, "I am punishing a passionate man." At another time 
he said to one of his slaves, "I would chastise you, if I were 
not angry." When told of reports to his disadvantage, he 
said, " I will live so that none shall believe them." When 
asked how long he intended to be a scholar, "As long," said 
he, " as I am not ashamed to grow wiser and better." 

Cicero, treating on the subject of language, says, that, " if 
Jupiter were to speak in Greek, he would borrow the style of 
Plato." Some of the dialogues are elevated by such sublime 
and glowing conceptions, are enriched with such copious and 
splendid diction, and flow in so harmonious a rythmus, that 
they may be truly pronounced highly poetical. Most of them 
are justly admired for their literary merit. The introductions 
are pertinent and amusing; the course of the debate or con- 
versation is clearly marked ; the characters are accurately 
supported ; every speaker has his proper place, language, and 
manners; the scenery of the conference is painted in lively 
coloring: and the whole is, with admirable art, adorned and 
enlivened by those minute embellishments, which render the 
colloquial mode of writing so peculiarly pleasing. Even upon 
abstract subjects, whether moral, metaphysical, or mathemati- 
cal, the language of Plato is often clear as the running stream, 



HISTORICAL READER. 367 

and in simplicity and sweetness vies with the humble violet 
which perfumes the vale* In these beautiful parts of his 
works, it has been conjectured, that Socrates and Lysias were 
his models. At other times, however, we find him swelling 
into the turgid style. 

Plato often adopts obscure language, and purposely throws 
a veil of obscurity over his doctrines. He says, u It is a diffi- 
cult thing to discover, and it would be impious to expose to 
vulgar understandings, the nature of the Creator of the uni- 
verse." " It would be to no purpose to lay open to mankind 
at large the doctrines of philosophy, which are adapted cnly to 
the comprehension of a- few, who, from imperfect hints, are 
capable of conceiving their full import." This concealed 
method he probably adopted from a regard to his personal 
safety, having the fate of Socrates before his eyes. 

Matter, according to Plato, is an eternal and infinite principle, 
from its nature it resists the will of the supreme Artificer, so that 
he cannot perfectly execute his designs, and this is the cause 
of the mixture of good and evil, which is found in the material 
world. The principle opposite to matter is God, who is the 
Supreme Intelligence, incorporeal, without beginning, end, or 
change, and capable of being perceived only by the mind. 
By the expression, "Ideas existing in the Reason of God," he 
meant patterns or archetypes, subsisting by themselves as real 
beings in the Divine Reason, as in their original and eternal 
region, and issuing thence to give form to sensible things, and 
to become objects of contemplation and science to rational 
beings. The Reason of God compiehends exemplars of all 
things, and this reason is one of the primary causes of things. 
Plutarch says, that, "Plato supposed three principles, God, 
Matter, and Idea." The Divine Reason Plato speaks of, as 
having always existed, and as the divine principle, which es- 
tablished the order ofc* the world. He appears to have con- 
ceived of this principle, as distinct not merely from matter, 
but from the efficient cause, and as eternally containing within 
itself Ideas or intelligible forms, which, flowing from the foun- 
tain of the Divine Essence, have in themselves a real existence, 
and which, in the formation of the visible world, were, by the 
energy of the efficient cause, united to matter to produce sen- 
sible bodies. These Ideas Pinto defines to be the peculiar 
natures of things, or essences as such, and asserts that they 
always remain the same, without beginning or end. 

It was another doctrine in the Platonic, system, that the 
Deity formed the material world after a perfect archetype^ 



368 HISTORICAL READER. 

which had eternally subsisted in his Reason, and endued it 
with a soul. 

He appears to have taught, that the soul of man is derived 
by emanation from God ; Lut ibat this emanation was not im- 
mediate, but through the intervention of the soul of the world, 
which was itself debased by some material admixture. When 
God formed the universe, he separated from the soul of the 
world inferior souls, equal in number to the stars, and assigned 
to each its proper celestial abode; but that these souls were 
sent down to the earth into human bodies, as into a sepulchre 
or prison ; and that the soul can be prepared to return to its 
original habitation by disengaging itself from animal passions, 
and rising above sensible objects to the contemplation of the 
world of intelligence. 

His arguments for the immutability of the soul aie as follows: 
In nature, all tilings terminate in their contraries; the state of 
sleep terminates in that of waking; and the reverse: so life 
ends in death, and death in life. The soul is a simple indivi- 
sible substance, and therefore incapable of dissolution, or cor- 
ruption. The objects to which it naturally adheres are spiritual 
and incorruptible ; therefore its nature is so. All our know- 
ledge is acquired by the reminiscence of ideas contemplated in 
a prior state: as the soul, therefore, must have existed before 
this life, it is probable that it will continue to exist after it. 
Life being the conjunction of the soul with the body, death is 
nothing more than their separation. Whatever is the principle 
of motion is incapable of destruction. Such is the substance 
of the arguments for the immortality of the soul, contained in 
the celebrated dialogue of the Phsedo. It is happy for man- 
kind, that their belief of this momentous doctrine rests upon 
firmer grounds than such futile reasonings. We cannot be- 
lieve that they brought conviction to his own mind, or served 
any other purpose than to display his ingenuity and eloquence. 
A celebrated writer of antiquity acknowledges, that after he 
had read Plato's celebrated work, his mind was perplexed with 
all its former uncertainty. If the arguments of Plato were the 
only evidence of our immortality, we should close the book in 
despair; and be disposed to give vent to our feelings in the 
expression of the sentiments of a beautiful Greek poet. 

"Alas! the tender herbs and flow'ry tribes, 
Tho' crushed by winter's unrelenting- hand, 
Revive and rise, when vernal zephyrs call ; 
But we, the brave, the mighty, and the wise, 



HISTORICAL READER. 369 

Bloom, flourish, fade, and fall; and then succeeds 
A long-, long, si ent, dark, oblivious sleep, 
A sleep, which no propitious power dispels, 
Nor changing seasons, nor I evolving years." 

Although many just and sublime sentiments on moral 
subjects are to be found in the writings of Plato, his 
ethical doctrine is very imperfect, and often extravagant 
and absurd. 

The Old, the Middle, and the new Academy.- — The 
Old Academy consisted of those who taught the doctrine of 
Plato without mixture or corruption. The first of these was 
Speusippus, who, contrary to the practice of his master, re- 
quired from his pupils a stated gratuity. He is said to have 
been of a violent temper, fond of pleasure, and exceedingly 
avaricious. He wrote many works, that were highly valued 
by Aristotle, but they are all lost. He was succeeded by 
Xenocrates, who was born B. C. 400. His temper was gloomy, 
his aspect severe, and his manners little tinctured with urban- 
ity. But so eminent was his reputation for integrity, that when 
called upon to give evidence in a judicial transaction, the judges 
unanimously agreed, that his simple asseveration should be 
taken, as a public testimony to his merit. And Philip, king 
of Macedon, said, "that he was the only one whose friendship 
he had not been able to purchase " And, when sent to Anti- 
pater, for the redemption of several Athenian captives, he 
declined the invitation of the prince to sit down with him to 
supper, in the words of Ulysses to Circe; 

"What man, whose bosom burns with gen'rous worth, 
His friends enthralled and banish'd from his sight, 
Would taste a selfish, solitary joy." 

He was discreet in the use of his time, and carefully allotted 
a certain portion of each day to its proper business. He was 
so great an admirer of the mathematical sciences, and w r as so 
fully convinced of their utility, that when a young man, who 
was unacquainted with geometry and astronomy, desired ad- 
mission into the Academy, lie refused his request, saying, he 
was not yet possessed ofliie handles of philosophy. 

He made unity and diversity principles in nature, or ojods, 
the former of whom he represented as the father and the latter 
as the mother of the universe. He taught that the heavens 
are divine, and the stars celestial gods; and that besides these 
divinities there are terrestrial daemons of a middle order be* 
tween the gods and man. 



370 HISTORICAL READER. 

Crantor is the last celebrated name in the Old Academy, of 
whom Horace says, 

"Who better taught fair virtue's sacred rules, 
Than Crantor or Cratippus in the schools." 

The first preceptor of the Middle Academy, which introdu- 
ced various innovations in the Platonic system, was Arcesilaus, 
who was early initiated in mathematical science and polite 
literature. With extensive learning, sweetness of temper, and 
elegance of manners, he united many moral qualities. But his 
virtues were contaminated by many vices. 

He thought it disgraceful to assent to any proposition, the 
truth of which is not fully established, and maintained that in 
all questions, opposite opinions may be supported by arguments 
of equal weight. He disputed against the testimony of the 
senses, and the authority of reason; but at the same time 
acknowledged that they are capable of furnishing probable 
opinions sufficient for the conduct of life. His doctrine of 
uncertainty alarming the general body of philosophers, and 
even the governors of the State, Carneades, one of the disci- 
ples of this school, thought it expedient to relinquish, in words 
at least, some of the more obnoxious tenets of Arcesilaus. 
From this period, the Platonic school took the appellation of 
the New Academy. Carneades was a native of Cyrene in 
Africa, and was born 214 B. C. With Diogenes the Stoic, 
and Critolaus the Peripatetic, he was sent on an embassy 
from Athens to Rome. The three philosophers gave the 
Roman people many specimens of Grecian learning and elo- 
quence. Carneades having harangued with great variety of 
thought, and copiousness of diction, in praise of justice before 
Cato the Censor; on the following day, to establish his doc- 
trine of the uncertainty of human knowledge, he undertook to 
refute all his former arguments. Cato persuaded the Senate 
to send the philosophers back without delay. As Carneades 
grew old, he discovered strong apprehensions of dying, and 
frequently lamented, that the same nature which composed the 
human frame could dissolve it. 

He maintained that the senses, the understanding, and the 
imagination frequently deceive us, and therefore cannot be 
infallible judges of truth. The impressions which we receive, 
he called Phantasies or Images, and that they do not always 
correspond to the real nature of things, and consequently afford 
no certain criterion of truth. The chief point of difference 
between the Middle and New Academy, was, that the latter 



HISTORICAL READER. 371 

taught the doctrine of uncertainty in less exceptionable terms 
than the former. His immediate successor, Clitomachus, 
confessed that he was never able to discover his master's real 
tenets. 

Clitomachus was a native of Carthage, and professed the 
doctrine of suspension of assent, as it had been taught by his 
masters. Cicero relates, that he wrote four hundred books on 
philosophical subjects. At an advanced age, he was seized 
with a lethargy. Recovering in some measure the use of his 
faculties, he said, " The love of life shall deceive me no longer;" 
and laid violent hands upon himself.— Philo of Larissa, the 
successor of Clitomachus, took refuge at Rome, during the 
Mithridatic war, and Cicero attended his lectures. He held 
that truth is comphehensible, but not the human faculties. 
Charmidas, the companion of Philo, is celebrated for the com- 
pass and fidelity of his memory, and for his moral wisdom. 

The last preceptor of the Platonic school in Greece was 
Antiochus of Ascalon. He attempted to reconcile the tenets 
of the different sects. He resigned the Academic chair B. C. 
80. After his time the professors of the Academic philosophy 
were dispersed by the tumults of war, and the school itself 
was transferred to Rome. 

Aristotle and the Peripatetic Sect. — Aristotle was 
a native of Stagyra, a town of Thrace, and was born 384 B. 
C. He devoted himself to the study of philosophy in the 
school of Plato, who used to call him the Mind of the school 
He is said to have been the first person who formed a library. 
When Alexander was in his fifteenth year, he took up his 
residence in the court of Philip, and became the tutor of his 
son. Alexander, during his Asiatic expedition, employed seve- 
ral thousand persons to collect animals of various kinds, for 
the use of Aristotle, who wrote fifty volumes on the history of 
animated nature, only ten of which are now extant. Callis- 
thenes, the nephew of the philosopher, who accompanied the 
hero, incurred his displeasure by the freedom with which he 
censured his conduct, and the aversion was transferred to 
Aristotle. Aristotle, on his return to Athens, founded a school 
in the Lyceum, where he held daily conversations on subjects 
of philosophy with those who attended him, walking as he 
discoursed; whence his followers were called Peripatetics. 
This philosopher had his public (exoteric) and his secret (eso- 
teric) doctrine; and he divided his audience into two classes. 
He continued his school twelve years, but being at lenth per- 
secuted by the priesthood, and unwilling, he said, "to give the 



372 HISTORICAL KEADEK. 

Athenians an opportunity of committing a second offence 
against philosophy," (alluding to the fate of Socrates, ) he 
retired to Chalcis, where he remained till his death. He was 
twice married. His person was slender, he had small eyes, 
and a shrill voice; and endeavored to supply the defects of his 
natural form, by an attention to dress, and commonly appear- 
ed in a costly habit, with his beard shaven, and his hair cut, 
and with rings upon his fingers. 

Concerning his character, nothing can be more contradictory 
than the accounts of different writers. Perhaps if weighed in 
the equal balance of historical truth, it will be found, that nei- 
ther were his virtues of that exalted kind which command 
admiration, nor his faults so highly criminal as not to admit of 
some apology. To him has been commonly ascribed the cele- 
brated apothegm — "Amicus Plato, amicus Socrates, magis 
tamen arnica Veritas," (I respect Plato, and I respect Socrates, 
but I respect Truth still more.) 

It must be owned, that he is frequently deserving of censure, 
for giving a partial and unfair representation of the opinions of 
his predecessors in philosophy, that he might the more easily 
refute them; and that he seems to have made it the principal 
object of his extensive reading, to depreciate the wisdom of all 
preceding ages. In short, whilst in point of genius we rank 
Aristotle in the first class of men, and whilst we ascribe to him 
every attainment which, at the period in which he lived, inde- 
fatigable industry, united with superior abilities, could reach, 
we must add, that his reputation in philosophy is in some mea- 
sure tarnished by a too daring spirit of contradiction and inno- 
vation; and in morals, by an artful conformity to the manners 
of the age in which he lived. 

The works which are at present generally received under his 
name, mav be classed under the heads of Logic, Physics, Meta- 
physics, Mathematics, Ethics, Rhetoric, and Poetry. — Most of 
the subjects on which he treats are very abstruse, and discussed 
in a very concise and obscure style. When Alexander com- 
plained that he had divulged, in his writings, his esoteric doc- 
trines, the philosopher replied, that they were published, and not 
published — Ambitious to distinguish himself above all other 
philosophers, his object was to erect his own edifice upon the 
ruin of evpry other structure. As Lord Bacon has remarked, 
"Like a Turkish despot, he thought he could not reign secure, 
unless all his brethren were slain." 

Aristotle is particularly distinguished by treatises on Logic. 
If Aristotle was not the first, who reduced logic to a system, he 






HISTORICAL READER. 373 

was the most eminent oflogicians. He claims the invention 
of the whole theory of syllogisms. He exhibited them to view 
in every shape. The sum of his doctrine concerning Logic is 
as follows : The end of logic is the discovery of truth, either 
probable or certain. Analytics investigate the truth by incon- 
trovertible demonstrations. Dialectics establish opinions by 
probable arguments. Logic, whether analytic or dialectic, 
searches after truth by means of syllogisms. Syllogisms 
consist of propositions; and propositions of simple terms. 
Terms are of three kinds; homonymous, where a common 
word is applied to different things; synonymous, or univocal, 
where the meaning of the word, and the definition coincide; 
and paronymous, where the word only varies in case and 
termination. Porphyry wrote an introduction to his works, 
in which he treats of the five predicates, genus, species, dif- 
ference, property, and accident. (Comparing together a 
number of particular ideas, we observe some properties 
which they possess in common ; to this collection of prop- 
erties we assign a name, which denotes a species, as man, 
horse, &c Comparing various species, we find some partic- 
ulars in which they agree. To these we annex a name, and 
call it a genus; thus horse, dog, &c, agree in the property of 
being living creatures, with four feet. Hence we form the 
genus quadruped. Animal is a superior genus, of which 
man, bird, &c, are species. Being, as common to all things 
which exist, genus generalissimum.) 

Every proposition consists of a Subject, a Predicate, and a 
Copula; or expresses the thing concerning which the assertion 
is made, the accident which is asserted or predicated of it, and 
the asse-tion itself. From propositions are formed Syllogisms, 
in which, from given premises, certain conclusions are drawn. 
A syllogism consists of three propositions, of which the two 
former are the premises, and the third the conclusion, and in 
which -three terms are variously arranged. These three terms 
are called the Major, the Minor, and the Middle Term. The 
predicate of the conclusion, is called the Major Term, the 
Subject the Minor, and both together the Extremes. The 
v Middle Term is that which is introduced to show the con- 
nection between the Major and the Minor, and thus bring 
out the conclusion. The Matter of a syllogism is, the propo- 
sition of which it consists; the Form is, the framing and dis- 
posing of these according to Figure, and Mode. Figure is the 
proper disposition of the Middle Term. Mode is the arrange- 
ment of the propositions according to quantity and quality; 

32 



374 HISTORICAL READER. 

that is, as they are universal or particular, affirmative or 
negative. (In the following syllogism: "Truth is venerable: 
Christianity is truth ; therefore, Christianity is venerable" — 
Christianity, venerable, and truth, are the terms of the syllo- 
gism. Christianity and venerable, are the extremes, and truth 
the middle term. Venerable, is the major; and Christianity, 
the minor extreme. Truth is venerable, Christianity is tiuth, 
are the premises. Therefore, Christianity is venerable, is the 
conclusion. Truth is venerable, is the major proposition. 
Christianity is truth, is the minor proposition, or the assump- 
tion.) 

The figures of Syllogisms are three: in the First, the middle 
term is the subject of the major proposition, and the predicate 
of the minor. It contains four modes which are conclusive. 
In the Second, the middle term is the predicate of both the ex- 
tremes; it has also four conclusive modes. In the Third, the 
middle term is the subject of both the extremes; it has six 
modes. Every syllogism is constituted of seme one of those 
three figures; but the first is the most perfect. (The sentence, 
14 God is omnipotent, " is a proposition, in which God is the 
subject; omnipotent the predicate; and is, the copula.- — Syllo- 
gism of the first figure. "Every bad man is miserable: all 
tyrants are bad men ; therefore, all tyrants are miserable." — 
Syllogism of the second figure. u No deceiver is to be cred- 
ited: every good historian is to be credited; therefore, no good 
historian is a deceiver." — -Syllogism of the third figure. "All 
honest men are beloved: all honest men have faults; therefore, 
some who have faults are beloved.") 

(Of what use are Syllogisms? "I answer," saysJLocke, "their 
chief and main use is in the schools, where men are allowed, 
without shame, to deny the agreement of ideas, that do mani- 
festly agree; or out of the schools to those, who from thence 
have learned without shame, to deny the connexion of ideas, 
which even to themselves is visible. But to an ingenuous 
searcher after truth, who has no other aim but to find it, there 
is no need of any such form, to force the allowing of the infer- 
ence." "To shorten the process of arriving at truth," says 
Dr. T. Brown, "it forces us to use, in every case, three propo- 
sitions instead of two, which nature directs us to use. The 
invention and formal statement of a major proposition, in every 
ease, serve only to retard the progress of discovery, not to 
quicken it, or render it in the slightest degree more sure." 
"God has not been so sparing to men," says Locke, "as to 
Pfiake them barely two legged animals, and left it to Aristotle 



HISTORICAL READER. 375 

to make them rational. Indeed the most convincing proof of 
their own independent rationality is, that, with the incumbrance 
of the logical system of the schools, which had held the minds 
of men in intellectual bondage for more than two thousand 
years, they were able to shake this off, and become reasoners 
in the true and noble sense of that term, by abandoning the 
art which made them only disputants." The powers of the 
mind were, by the system introduced by Aristotle, exhausted 
in grave trifling and solemn folly. Men's minds were in an 
endless ferment ."with oppositions of science falsely so called, 
doting about questions and strifes of words, whence arose envy, 
railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt 
minds, and destitute of the truth." The Apostle Paul was a 
witness of all this, and said, "Beware lest any man spoil you 
through philosophy and vain deceit." Little was talked of but 
intention and remission, proportion and degree, infinity, form- 
ality, quiddity, individuality. "After men," observes Dr. 
Reid in his Analysis of Aristotle's Logic, " had labored in the 
search of truth near two thousand years by the help of syllo- 
gisms, Lord Bacon proposed the method of induction. The 
art of syllogism produced numberless disputes, and numberless 
sects, who fought against each other with much animosity, 
without gaining or losing ground, but did nothing considerable 
for the benefit of human life.") 

(Induction literally means a bringing in: the plan it un- 
folds is that of investigating nature, and inquiring after truth, 
not by reasoning upon mere conjectures about nature's laws 
and properties, but by bringing together carefully and patiently 
a variety of particular facts and instances; viewing these in all 
possible lights, and drawing, from a comparison of the whole, 
some general principle or truth that applies to all. This 
process of inquiry is slow, but it is the only sure method of 
becoming acquainted with the powers of nature: and it is to 
the prosecution of this mode of investigation, that the moderns 
owe their great superiority over the ancients in physical 
science.) 

(When Induction is complete, the evidence is satisfactory; 
but as this can seldom be attained, philosophers are constrained 
to have recourse to arguments from Analogy, or the similitude 
of relations. There is an analogy between the fin of a fish 
and the wing of a bird ; the fin bearing the same relation to the 
water which the wing does to the air. Analogy argues from 
proportionable causes to proportionable effects, and from simi- 
larity of circumstances to similarity of consequences. Bishop 



376 HISTORICAL READER. 

Butler, in his Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed, has 
made a just and happy use of this mode of reasoning. From 
Analogy it is inferred that the planets are inhabited; that gravi- 
tation is a universal property of matter; and on the unity and 
harmony of design every where conspicuous in the universe* 
is founded the most solid argument which reason furnishes for 
the unity of God ) 

(Method is of two kinds: the Analytic and the Synthetic, 
Analytic Method resolves a complex idea into its component 
principles; Synthetic Method, begins with simple and self-evi- 
dent principles, and advances gradually to remote and complex 
propositions. He that learns the structure of any machine, 
for instance, a watch, by taking it to pieces, acquires his know- 
ledge by the Analytic Method: he that attains the same informa- 
tion by seeing the artist combine the several parts, sa as ta 
form a complete whole, is instructed synthetically.) 

If much learning had not made this philosopher mad, it hao> 
at least, thrown his mind into a chaos of speculation, where he 
was in wandering mazes lost — * vain wisdom all, and false 
philosophy." He maintained that the universe had existed 
from all eternity, and that God was connected with a world 
already formed : by the chain of necessity; that, eternally em- 
ployed in the contemplation of his own nature, he observes 
nothing, he cares for nothing beyond himself; residing in the 
first sphere, he possesses neither immensity nor omnipresence: 
far removed from the inferior parts of the universe, he is not 
even a spectator of what is passing among the inhabitants, and 
therefore cannot be a proper object of worship or reverence. 
Nothing is to be met with in the writings of Aristotle, which 
determines whether he thought the soul of man mortal, or im- 
mortal; but the former appears most probable. 

His writings on moral philosophy contain many useful pre- 
cepts and just observations, but they are by no means to be 
considered as a perfect code of morals, adapted to promote 
a genuine integrity, and simplicity of manners. 

Of the philosophy of Aristotle, it may be asserted, that it 
is rather the philosophy of words than of things ; and that the 
study of his writings tends more to perplex the understanding 
with subtle distinctions, than to enlighten it with real know- 
ledge. 

Theophrastus was nominated by Aristotle as his successor 
in the school of the Lvcseum, when he withdrew to Chalcis. 
He had about 2,0DD scholars. A decree was obtained making 
it a capital offence to open a public school without an express 



HISTORICAL READER. 377 

license from the Senate. But the next year, the author of 
this persecution was fined, and the philosophers returned to 
Athens. Theophrastus was highly celebrated for his industry, 
learning, and eloquence, and is said to have twice freed his 
country from the oppression of tyrants. Though he lived to 
the advanced age of eighty-five, he complained that nature had 
given long life to stags and crows, and denied it to man ; and 
his last advice to his disciples was, that, since it is the lot of 
man to die as soon as he begins to live, they would take more 
pains to enjoy life as it passes, than to acquire posthumous 
fame. In several particulars, he deviated from the doctrine of 
his master. He maimained that all things are not produced 
from contraries, but some from contraries, some from simple 
causes, and some from simple energy. The most valuable of 
his moral apophthegms is the following : " Respect yourself, 
and you will never have reason to be ashamed before others." 

Theophrastus was succeeded by Strato, who is said to have 
departed essentially from the system of Aristotle; but perhaps 
it would be more correct to say, that he carried his principles 
to their legitimate consequences. He asserted that the world 
arose from a principle innate in matter, originally excited by 
accident, and since continuing to act, according the peculiar 
qualities of natural bodies; thus he excluded, at least indirect- 
ly, the doctrine of the existence of a Supreme Being. He 
taught that the seat of the soul is in the middle of the brain, 
that it acts only by means of the senses. 

Demetrius Phalereus was an illustrious ornament of the 
Peripatetic school. Having possessed supreme power in Athens 
for ten years, and rendered many essential services, he was 
condemned, during his absence from the city, to forfeit his 
life. He fled to Egypt, and, unable to support the repeated 
misfortunes he met with, put an end to his life by the bite of 
an asp. Josephus, Philo, and others assert, that it was, by 
the advice of Demetrius, who they say was librarian to 
Ptolemy Philadelphus, that this prince gave orders for a ver- 
sion of the Old Testament from the Hebrew into the Greek 
language, a version called (he Septuagint. Seventy persons 
are said to have been engaged; but this account is now re- 
jected. 

The Cynic Sect. — Renouncing all subtle disquisitions, 
and every scientific pursuit, this sect was confined to the study 
and illustration of the precepts of morality; but the severity, 
the moroseness, and scurrillity of many of the Cynics, gradu- 
ally brought the whole order into disesteem and contempt. 

32* 



378 HISTORICAL ITEAXFEB. 

Antisthenes chose for his school a public place of exercise 
without the walls of the city of Athens. In order to accom- 
modate his manners to his doctrine, he wore no other garment 
than a coarse cloak, suffered his beard to grow, and carried a 
wallet and staff like a wandering beggar. He expressed the 
utmost contempt for pleasure. The moroseness of his temper 
and the gloomy cast of his mind, rendered him troublesome to 
his friends, and an object of ridicule to his enemies. In his 
last illness he was fretful and impatient; tired of life, yet loth 
to die. When Diogones, at that time, asked him, whether he 
needed a friend, Antisthenes replied, " Where is the friend that 
can free me from my pain?" Diogenes presented him with a 
dagger, saying, " Let this free you;" but Antisthenes replied, 
"I wisli to be freed from my pain, not from my life." Socra- 
tes once said to him, " Why ostentatious? Through your rags 
I see your vanity." 

The sum of the moral doctrine of the Cynic sect is this: 
Virtue alone is a sufficient foundation for a happy life. Wis- 
dom and virtue are the same. A wise man will always be 
contented with his condition, and will live rather according to 
the precepts of virtue, than according to the laws or customs 
of his country. Wisdom is a secure and impregnable fortress; 
virtue, armor which cannot be taken away. Virtue is the 
only bond of friendship. 

The following savings are ascribed to Antisthenes: As rust 
consumes iron, so doth envv consume the heart of man. That 
State is hastening to ruin, in which no difference is made be- 
tween good and bad men. The harmony of brethren is a 
stronger defence than a wall of brass. A wise man conver- 
ses with the wicked, as a physician with the sick, not to catch 
the disease, but to cure it. A philosopher gains at least one 
thing from his manner of life, a power of conversing with 
himself. The most necessary part of learning is, to unlearn 
our errors. The man who is afraid of another, xchatever he 
may think of ? ' himself \ is a slave. 

Diogenes perfectly adopted the principles and character of 
Antisthenes. In his old age, being taken by pirates, and ex- 
posed to sale in the public market, he was asked what he 
could do. He replied, "I can govern men, therefore sell me 
to one who wants a master." And he said to his purchaser, 
"I can be more useful to you as your physician, than as your 
slave." His liberty was given to him, and he undertook the 
education of the children of his benefactor. He made use of 



HISTORICAL READER. 379 

sententious maxims, written in verse by himself and others, 
which he required his pupils to commit to memory. 

Diogenes was a philosopher of a penetrating genius, not 
unacquainted with learning, and deeply read in the knowledge 
of mankind. He, moreover, possessed a firm and lofty mind, 
superior to the intrigues of fortune, hardy in suffering, and 
incapable of fear. Contented with a little, and possessing 
within himself treasures sufficient for his own happiness, he 
despised the luxuries of the age. From an earnest desire to 
correct and improve the public manners, he censured reigning 
follies and vices with a steady confidence, which sometimes 
degenerated into severity. He spared neither the rich nor the 
powerful; ahd even ventured to ridicule the religious supersti- 
tions of the age. This freedom gave great offence to many, 
and in consequence was made the subject of ludicrous and dis- 
graceful calumny; and many improbable stories to his disad- 
vantage are recorded. But he cannot be absolved from the 
accusation of gross rudeness, of a singular ruggedness of 
manners, of bitter scurrility, and of philosophical pride. He 
died in the ninetieth year of his age. A column of marble, 
terminated by the figure of a dog, was raised over his tomb. 

The chief heads of his moral doctrine may be thus briefly 
stated: Virtue of mind, as well as strength of body, is chiefly 
to be acquired by exercise and habit. Nothing can be accom- 
plished without labor, and every thing may be accomplished 
with it. Even the contempt of pleasure may, by the force of 
habit become pleasant. The ranks of society originate from 
the vices and follies of mankind, and are therefore to be de- 
spised. The end of philosophy is to subdue the passions, and 
prepare men for every condition of life. 

To a friend, who advised him, in his old age, to indulge 
himself, he said, " Would you have me quit the race, when I 
have almost reached the goal." Seeing a boy drink water 
out of the hollow of his hand, he threw away his cup, saying 
"he would carry no superfluities about him." To one that re- 
viled him, he said, " No one will believe you when you speak 
ill of me, any more than they would me, if I were to speak 
well of you." Would you be revenged upon your enemy, 
said Diogenes, be virtuous, that he may have nothing to say 
against you. 

After Diogenes, the most distinguished professor of the 
Cynic philosophy was Crates, a Thebnn. He was, how- 
ever, cheerful and facetious. His influence in private fami- 



380 HISTORICAL READER. 

lies is said to have been great in correcting the luxuries and 
vices at that time prevalent in Athens. 

Metrocles, the brother of Hipparchia, the celebrated wife of 
Crates, became so dissatisfied with the world, that in his old 
age, he strangled himself. Menedemus, dressed in a black 
cloak, with an Arcadian cap on his head, on which were 
drawn the twelve signs of the Zodiac; with tragic buskins 
on his legs, with a long beard, and with a staff in his hand, 
went about saying he was a spirit, returned from the infernal 
regions to admonish the world. 

The Stoic Sect. — This sect was a branch from the 
Cynic, and, as far as respected morals, differed from it in 
words more than in reality. Avoiding the offensive singu- 
larities of the Cynics, it rose to great distinction among the 
Grecians and Romans. 

Zeno, the founder of this sect, was a native of Cittius, of 
Cyprus. He came to Athens, and attended the schools of all 
the celebrated philosophers. His inquisitive turn of mind 
would not allow him to neglect scientific inquiries. Having 
attended on many eminent preceptors, he compiled out of their 
various tenets, a heterogeneous system, on the credit of which 
he assumed to himself the title of the founder of a new sect. 

In his person, Zeno was tail and slender; his aspect was. 
severe, and his brow contracted. His constitution was feeble, 
but he preserved his health by great abstemiousness. The 
supplies of his table consisted of figs, bread, and honey. So 
great was his modesty, that he seldom chose to mingle with a 
crowd, or wished for the company of more than two or three 
friends at once. He showed as much respect to the poor as 
to the rich; and conversed freely* whh persons of the humblest 
occupations. He had only one se: ant. 

But he did not escape the enmity of rival sects, many of 
which attacked him with great bitterness. He lived to the 
extreme age of ninety-eight, and at last, in consequence of an 
accident, voluntarily put an end to his own life. 

The idle quibbles, jejune reasoning, and imposing sophism, 
of the dialectic philosophers, found their way into the Porch. 
At this time, a fondness for subtle disputations so generally 
prevailed in Greece, that excellence in the arts of reasoning, 
quibbling, and sophistry was a sure path to fame. Hence it 
was that the Stoics engaged with so much vehemence in ver- 
bal contests, and substituted vague and ill-defined terms in the 
room of accurate conceptions. Their doctrine of moral wis- 
dom is an ostentatious display of words, in which little regard 



HISTORICAL READER. 381 

was paid to nature and reason. It professed to raise human 
nature to a degree of perfection before unknown; but its real 
effect was, merely to amuse the ear, and captivate the fancy 
with fictions which can never be rea'ized. Zeno and his fol- 
lowers, in the warmth of controversy with the Epicureans, 
carried their principles to the utmost extremity, and were led 
to express themselves with greater confidence than they would 
otherwise have done. This is doubtless the reason, that so 
many extravagant notions were inculcated by the Stoics; and 
that, in consequence, they exposed themselves to the ridicule 
of their opponents by the unavoidable inconsistency between 
their words and their actions. A system of philosophy, which 
attempts to raise men above their nature, must commonly pro- 
duce, either wretched fanatics, or artful hypocrites. 

Care should be taken not to judge of the doctrine of the 
Stoics from words and sentiments, detached from the general 
system; and also not to confound the doctrines of Zeno with 
the glosses and improvements of the later Stoics after the birth 
of Christ. 

According to this sect, God and matter are alike underived 
and eternal ; and God is the former of the universe in no 
other sense, than as he has been the necessary efficient cause, 
by which motion and form have been impressed upon matter. 
The agency of the Deity is, according to the Stoics, nothing 
more than the active motion of a celestial ether or fire, pos- 
sessed of intelligence, which, at first, gave form to the shape- 
less mass of gross matter; and being always essentially united 
to the visible world, by the same necessary agency, preserves 
its order and harmony. The Stoic idea of a providence is not 
that of an infinitely wise and good Being, wholly independent 
of matter, freely directing and governing all things, but that 
of a necessary chain of causes and effects, arising from the 
action of a power, which is itself a part of the machine 
which it regulates, and which equally with that machine, is 
subject to the immutable law of necessity. Providence, in 
the Stoic creed, is only another name for absolute necessity 
or fate, to which God and matter, or the universe, which 
consists of both, is immutably subject. 

The universe is, according to Zeno, a sentient and animated 
being. Portions of the ethereal soul being distributed through- 
out all parts of the universe, hence arise, in the system of the 
Stoics, inferior gods or daemons, with which all nature is peo- 
pled; but none of them were deemed to be immortal, but a 
period, it was thought, would arrive, when they would return 



382 HISTORICAL READER. 

to the first celestial fire. Evil, the Stoics imagined, was 
owing to the defective nature of matter, which could not be 
changed. 

The sun they represented as a sphere larger than the earth, 
consisting of fire of the purest kind, as an animated being, and 
the first of the derived divinities ; the stars, too, as of the same 
kind, fiery bodies endued with perception and intelligence, and 
therefore to be ranked among the gods; and they were thought 
to be nourished by exhalations from the seas and rivers. The 
earth is on this system, the main support of nature, like the 
bones of an animated body, and with its waters forms a globe 
which is the centre of the world, and always remains immove- 
able. They believed in a general conflagration of the universe, 
when men, heroes, daemons, and gods, would perish together; 
but that, after a time, it would be renewed, and again be subject 
to degeneracy and corruption. 

The soul of man, according to the Stoics, is a spark of 
divine fire. Some maintained, that as soon as the soul is 
released from the body, it returns to the soul of the world, 
or is lost in the universal principle of fire. Some asserted that 
it would be extinguished. But others held that in a fated 
renovation of the universe, each individual would return to its 
former body, but, at last, would be lost in the Deity. 

The moral system of the Stoics may, with some great ex- 
ceptions, be regarded as the highest effort of unassisted reason 
to deduce a rule of life from the light of Nature. Many splen- 
did passages may be selected from their works, but many of 
the precepts are paradoxical, many are highly inflated with 
the spirit of pride, with the opposition of science, and many 
are utterly unsuited to the nature of man. To the Stoical 
wise man, all events were perfectly equal. The highest pros- 
perity and the deepest adversity are perfectly indifferent to him. 
Whatever he does under the influence of his principles is equally 
perfect. When he stretches out his finger, to give an example 
which they commonly made use of, he performs an action in 
every respact as meritorious, as worthy of praise and admira- 
tion, as when he lays down his life for the service of his coun- 
try. As all the actions of the wise man were perfectly and 
equally perfect; so all those of the man who had not arrived 
at this supreme wisdom, were faulty, and equally faulty. As 
one truth, they said, could not be more true, nor one falsehood 
more false than another, so an honorable action could not be 
more honorable, nor a shameful one more shameful than ano- 
ther. As in shooting at a mark, the man who missed it by an 



HISTORICAL READER. 383 

inch had equally missed it with him, who had done so by 
a hundred yards; so the man who, in what to us appears 
the most insignificant action, had acted improperly and with- 
out a sufficient reason, was equally faulty with him who had 
done so in what to us appears, the most important; the man 
who has killed a bird, lor example, improperly, with him 
who had murdered his father. 

The most complete contentment with every event which 
the current of human affairs could possibly cast up, is held 
forth as the fundamental doctrine ol the proud system of 
Stoicism ; and yet, it is expressly stated that a wise man 
may justly and reasonably withdraw from life, whenever he 
finds it expedient, i. e., that he may show his discontent and 
dissatisfaction, his want of resignation and obedience, by an 
act which evinces that he shrinks from the trials imposed 
upon him, and is unwilling to continue in the situation in 
which Providence has placed him. The whole system of 
Stoicism is based on pride; it is a system of extravagant folly, 
and not accommodated to the wants, weaknesses, and infirmi- 
ties of human nature. The piety which it teaches is submis- 
sion to irresistible fate. The self-command which it enjoins, 
annihilates the best affections of the human heart. 

This philosophy teaches us to interest ourselves earnestly 
and anxiously m no events, external to the good of our own 
minds, to the propriety of our own choosing and rejecting; 
except in those which concern a department where we neither 
have, nor ought to have, any sort of management or direction, 
the department of the great Superintendent of the universe. 
By the perfect apathy which it prescribes to us, by endeavor- 
ing, not merely to moderate, but to eradicate all our private, 
partial, and social affections, by suffering us to feel for what- 
ever can befal ourselves, our friends, our country, not even the 
sympathetic and reduced passions of the impartial spectator, it 
endeavors to render us altogether indifferent and unconcerned 
in the success and miscarriage of every thing which nature 
has prescribed to us as the proper business and occupation of 
our lives. 

We must conclude, that the Ethics of Zeno and his follow- 
ers deviated, as a system, from the principles of nature, and 
had a tendency to encourage artificial characters, and to en- 
courage moral affectation and hypocrisy. 

After the death of Zeno, his school was continued by 
Cleanthes of Assos in Lydia. He was for many years so poor, 
that he was obliged to write the heads of his master's lectures 



384 HISTORICAL READER, 

upon shells and bones, for want of money to buy paper. But 
he persevered in the study of philosophy, and remained a 
pupil of Zeno nineteen years. His natural faculties were slow, 
but resolution and perseverance enabled him to overcome every 
difficulty. Being reproved for his timidity, he replied, "It 
is to ihis quality 1 owe my innocence." " Do nothing," he said, 
" which will occasion pain or grief to yourself and others." 
He lived to extreme old age much respected, and the Roman 
Senate ordered a statue to be erected in honor of him at 
Assos. 

Chrysippus was a celebrated disciple of Cleanthes. He was 
indefatigably industrious, and seldom suffered a day to pass 
without writing 500 lines. He spent the greatest part of his 
life in disputation, and often said to his preceptor, " Give me 
doctrines, and I will find arguments to support them." He 
was particularly remarkable for his skill in the arts of sophis- 
try, and his frequent use of the figure sorites: (a syllogism 
which consists in a series of propositions, in which the predi- 
cate of the first becomes the subject of the second, and so on, 
till, in the conclusion, the subject of the first is joined with the 
predicate of the last.) He maintained, that the inferior deities, 
which were very numerous, are portions of the divine fire with 
which all nature is animated, and that they will, in the general 
conflagration of the universe, return to the source from which 
they were originally derived, till a general renovation shall 
take place. 

Pansetius was an intimate acquaintance of several eminent 
Romans, particularly Scipio and Lselius. He disliked the 
Stoic doctrine of apathy, and seems to have rejected the im- 
mortality of the soul. Posidonius, a native of Apama in 
Syria, was the last of that series of Stoics which belongs to the 
history of the Greek philosophy. He taught with so much 
reputation at Rhodes, that Pompey the Great went thither to 
attend his lectures. The hero, who had subdued the eastern 
and western world, paid homage lo philosophy, by lowering 
the fasces at the gate of Posidonius. He attended iMarcellus 
to Rome. 

The Italic or Pythagoric Sect. — Pherecydes, who 
flourished 600 B. C, was the first preceptor of Pythagoras, 
who was a native of the island of Samos. Pythagoras passed 
twenty-two years in Egypt, and was by order of the king 
admitted to a knowledge of the sacred mysteries. He after- 
wards went into Magna Grecia, and taught his doctrine in 
many cities of Italy. He pretended to supernatural powers, 



HISTORICAL READER. 385 

and persuaded his hearers that he had received his doctrine 
from heaven. He did not commit his system to writing. He 
held public assemblies in which he delivered moral discourses; 
and he had private lectures, at which he communicated his 
esoteric doctrines to those disciples, who had submitted to a 
long course of instruction into all the mysteries of his system. 
He was very particular in his examination of those who wished 
to become his disciples. Their features, their manner of con- 
versing, laughing, keeping silence, their companions, the man- 
ner in which they passed their leisure moments, the incidents 
which appeared to excite the strongest emotion of joy and 
sorrow, the way in which they behaved towards their parents 
and friends, were all considered by him; and he admitted only 
those who could stand the test of his examination. After they 
were received, they had to undergo a long and painful course 
of probation. To teach them humility and industry, he ex- 
posed them for three years to a continued course of contra- 
diction, ridicule, and contempt, among their fellows. He 
deprived them of all command over their own property. That 
he might give his disciples a habit of entire docility, he enjoined 
upon them, from their first admission, a term of silence from 
two to five years. In this stage of tuition, they were not 
favored with a sight of their master, but heard him from be- 
hind a curtain ; and every thing which they heard, they were 
bound to receive as unquestionable truths. 

The members of the esoteric school received a full explana- 
tion of his doctrines; but to others they were delivered in brief 
precepts and dogmas, under the concealment of symbols. The 
brethren of the college at Crotona, who were about six hun- 
dred in number, lived together as one family. The whole 
business of the society was conducted with perfect regularity. 
Every day was begun with a distinct deliberation upon the 
manner in which it should be spent, and concluded with a 
careful retrospect of the events which had occurred, and the 
business which had been transacted. They rose before the 
sun, that they might pay him homage; after which they re- 
peated select verses from Homer, and other poets, and made 
use of music, both vocal and instrumental, to enliven their 
spirits, and fit them for the duties of the day. They then 
employed several hours in the study of science. These were 
succeeded by an interval of leisure, which was commonly 
spent in a solitary walk for the purpose of contemplation. 
The next portion of the day was allotted to conversation. 
The hour immediately before dinner was filled up with various 

33 



388 HISTORICAL READER. 

kinds of athletic exercises. Their dinner consisted chiefly of 
bread, honey, and water; the initiated were not allowed wine. 
The remainder of the day was devoted to civil and domestic 
affairs. 

He maintained that the first step towards wisdom is the 
study of mathematics; that arithmetic is the noblest science; 
that by music the mind was raised above the dominion of the 
passions, and inured to contemplation, that by its means dis- 
eases both bodily and mental might be cured. He believed 
the earth to be a sphere, the planets to be inhabited, and it has 
been inferred, that he possessed the true idea of the solar sys- 
tem, which was revived by Copernicus, and established by 
Newton. Moral philosophy, according to Aristotle, was first 
taught by Pythagoras. The following maxims and precepts 
are ascribed to him : Young persons should be inured to 
subjection, that they may always find it easy to submit to the 
authority of reason. Let them be conducted into the best 
course of life, and habit will soon render it the most pleasant. 
Silence is better than idle words. Do what you judge to be 
right, whatever the multitude may think of you; if you despise 
their praise, despise also their censure, it is inconsistent with 
fortitude to relinquish the station appointed by the Supreme 
Lord, before we obtain his permission. Sobriety is the strength 
of the soul, for it preserves its reason unclouded by passion. 
No man ought to be esteemed free, who has not the perfect 
command of himself. Drunkenness is a temporary phrensy. 
The desire of superfluity is foolish, because it knows no limits. 
Wisdom and virtue are our best defence; every other guard is 
weak and unstable. It requires much wisdom to give right 
names to things. In all society a due regard must be had to 
subordination. It is an evident proof of a good education, to 
be able to endure the want of it in others. Before we abandon 
a friend, we should endeavor, by actions as well as words, to 
reclaim him. 

With respect to God, Pythagoras appears to have taught 
that he is the Universal Mind, diffused through all things, the 
source of all animal life; the proper and intrinsic cause of all 
motion; in substance similar to light; in nature like truth; 
the first principle of the universe, incapable of pain, invisi- 
ble, incorruptible, and only to be comprehended by the mind. 
Subordinate to the Deity, there were three orders of Intel- 
ligence, gods, daemons, heroes, distinguished by their respec- 
tive degrees of intelligence. The region of the air was full 
of spirits. 



HISTORICAL READER. 387 

Man, he taught, was a microcosm, a compendium of the 
universe; that his soul is a self-moving principle, composed 
of two parts, the rational, which is a portion of the soul 
of the world, seated in the brain; and the irrational, which 
includes the passions, and is seated in the heart ; that man 
participates in both these with the brutes, which from the 
temperament of the body, and their want of the power of 
speech, aie incapable of acting rationally ; that the sensitive 
soul perishes; but the rational mind is immortal ; that after the 
rational mind is freed from the chains of the body, it assumes 
an etherial vehicle, and passes into the regions of the dead, 
where it remains till it is sent back to this world, to be the 
inhabitant of some other body, brutal or human ; and that after 
suffering successive purgations, when it is sufficiently purified, 
it is received among the gods, and returns to the eternal source 
from which it at first proceeded. 

The doctrine of the transmigration of souls, which w T as 
taught in Egypt, was the foundation of abstinence from animal 
food, and the exclusion of animal sacrifices. 

Among the symbols of Pythagoras are the following: Adore 
the sound of the whispering wind. Stir not the fire with a 
sword. Turn aside from an edged tool. Pass not over a 
balance. Receive not a swallow into your house. When it 
thunders, touch the earth. Plant not a palm. Plant mallows 
in thy garden, but eat them not. Abstain from beans. 

His most celebrated followers were, Alcmseon, Ecphantus, 
Hippo, Empedocles, Epicharmus, Ocellus Lucanus, Tirnseus, 
Archytas, Philolaus, Eudoxus. 

Eleatic Sect. — Three of the most celebrated preceptors, 
Parmenides, Zeno, and Leucippus, being natives of Elea in 
Magna Graecia, the sect derived its name from this place. 
Zenophanes, born 556, was the founder of this sect. The 
metaphysical notions entertained are incomprehensible. His 
astronomical opinions were very absurd. He supposed that 
the stars were extinguished every morning, and rekindled at 
night ; that eclipses were occasioned by the temporary ex- 
tinction of the sun ; that the moon was eighteen times larger 
than the earth ; and that there were several suns and moons 
for the convenience of the different climates of the earth. He 
further imagined that God and the world were the same, and 
maintained that the universe was eternal. Democrifus, com- 
monly known under the name of the laughing philosopher, 
was of this sect, and succeeded Leucippus. He was contempo- 
rary with Socrates. Marvellous stories are related concering 



388 HISTORICAL READER, 

him, and he had the address to make the ignorant inhabitants 
of Abdera, the place of his birth, believe that he had the gift 
of prophecy. He never appeared in public, without expressing 
his contempt of the follies of mankind by laughter. He main- 
tained that the earth has no animating principle, but that all 
things are moved by the rapid agatition of atoms, as by a uni- 
versally penetrating fire; that the soul is the result of a com- 
bination of round and fiery particles; that it is mortal, and 
perishes with the body; but that human bodies will revive ; 
that perception is produced by images which flow from bodies 
according to their respective figure, and strike upon the organ 
of sense. He altogether denied the existence of the Supreme 
Being. 

The following maxims are ascribed to him : — He 
who subdues his passions is more heroic than he who van- 
quishes an enemy; yet, there are men, who, whilst they com- 
mand nations, are slaves to pleasure. It is criminal, not only 
to do mischief, but to wish it. He who enjoys what he has, 
without regretting the want of what he has not, is a happy 
man. The sweetest things become the most bitter by excess. 
Do nothing shameful, though you are alone; revere yourself 
more than all other men. By desiring little, a poor man makes 
himself rich. It is the office of prudence, where it is possible, 
to prevent injuries ; but where this cannot be done, a wise re- 
gard to our tranquillity will preserve us from revenging them. 
One great difference between a wise man and a fool, is, that 
the former only wishes for what he may obtain, the latter de- 
sires impossibilities. 

The most celebrated disciples of Democritus were Protagoras, 
Diagoras, Anaxarchus. 

Heraclitean Sect. — This sect was founded by Heraclitus 
of Ephesus, and it obtained no small share of celebrity. He 
flourished B. C. 504, and is known as the weeping philo- 
sopher. 

"Will you not now the pair of sages praise, 
Who the same end pursued by different ways? 
One pitied, one contemn'd the woful times ; 
One laugh'd at follies, and one wept at crimes." 

His natural temper being splenetic and melancholy, he de- 
spised the ignorance and follies of mankind, shunned all public 
intercourse with the world, and devoted himself to retirement 
and contemplation. He made choice of a mountainous retreat 
for his place of residence, and lived on the natural produce of 



HISTORICAL READER. 389 

the earth with the wild inhabitants of the place. He treated 
with contempt the polite invitation of Darius, king of Persia. 
He maintained that there is a fatal necessity, that the world 
was created from fire, which he deemed a god omnipotent and 
omniscient. The heavenly bodies, he said, are in the form of 
boats, having the hollow side towards us; and they become 
luminous, when certain fiery exhalations from the earth are 
collected within them; the sun is no larger than he appears; 
the stars are nourished by the exhalations from the earth; all 
nature is full of souls or daemons; human souls are liable to 
perpetual changes, and when they are loaded with moist va- 
pors, they pass into the watery mass and perish ; but if they 
are purified from these they return into the soul of the universe. 
Hippocrates, the physician, was the most distinguished admirer 
of Heraclitus. He said, " that which we call heat seems to be 
an immortal principle, which understands, sees, hears, and 
perceives all things present and future." 

The Epicurean Sect. — Epicurus was born near Athens 
344 B. C. He established his school in a pleasant garden 
near the city. His school became very popular. His disci- 
ples lived together on a footing of friendly attachment, with 
great frugality. In his own conduct he was exemplary, and 
he inculcated in his followers severity of manners, and the 
strict government of the passions, as the best means of passing 
a tranquil and happy life. He is said to have written a greater 
number of original works, than any other Grecian philosopher, 
but a compendium of his doctrine by Laertius, and a few frag- 
ments, are all that remain. 

According to Epicurus — Philosophy is the exercise of reason 
in the pursuit and attainment of a happy life; it consists of two 
parts; physics, which respect the contemplation of nature; and 
ethics, which are employed in the regulation of manners : 
dialectics are to be rejected as productive of only thorny dis- 
putes, idle quibbles, and fruitless cavilling; there are three 
instruments of judging — sense, preconception and passion; the 
senses can never be deceived, and consequently every percep- 
tion of an image is true, i. e., the perception or simple appre- 
hension, and its efficient cause, the species or image flowing 
from the object, really agree ; opinion or judgment is conse- 
quent on perception. All pleasure to which no pain is annexed 
is for its own sake to be pursued. Nothing can ever spring 
from' nothing. The universe always existed, the world is a 
finite portion of the universe, and was formed by the fortuitous 
concourse of atoms. Those atoms, which were, by their size 

33* 



390 HISTORICAL READER. 

and figure suited to form fiery bodies, collected themselves 
into stars, Those which were not capable of rising so high 
in the sphere of the world, being disturbed by the fiery parti- 
cles, formed themselves into air. At length, from those whrch 
subsided was produced the earth. The incessant motion of the 
atoms, which produced the world, is continually operating to- 
wards its dissolution, for nothing is solid and indissoluble but 
atoms. The parts of animals were not originally made for 
the uses to which they are now applied. The eye, for exam- 
ple, was not made for seeing, nor the ear for hearing. The 
soul is a subtle corporeal substance; and can act only by means 
of the bodily organs, and on their separation it becomes wholly 
insensible. 

Different sensations are produced by means of certain spe- 
cies or images, which are perpetually passing like their films 
from bodies, in forms similar to the surfaces of the bodies 
themselves, and striking upon organs fitted to receive them. 
Thought is produced by subtle images, which find their way 
through the body, and when they arrive at the heart, the seat 
of intellect, move it to think. Sleep is produced, when the 
parts of the soul which are at other times diffused through the 
body are repressed or separated by the action of the air, or of 
food. Dreams are the effects of images casually flying about, 
which strike upon the mind. Death is the dispersion of the 
soul into the corpuscles or atoms of which it was composed, 
and therefore can be no longer capable of thought or per- 
ception. 

It cannot, he said, be denied that there are in the universe 
Divine Natures, because nature itself has impressed the idea 
of Divinity upon the mind of men. This universal notion has 
probably arisen from the images of the gods, which have cas- 
ually made their way to the minds of men in sleep, and have 
afterwards been recollected- But it is inconsistent with our 
natural notions of the gods, as happy and immortal beings, to 
suppose that they encumber themselves with the management 
of the world, or are subject to cares and passions which must 
necessarily attend so great a charge. Nevertheless, on ac- 
count of their excellent nature, they are proper objects of 
reverence and worship. 

In his system of moral philosophy, many excellent precepts 
are contained ; and he appears to have desired to inspire his 
followers with a love of virtue, but by representing pleasure 
as the motive to the practice of virtue, and as the ultimate end 
of life, he polluted the fountain of virtuous action ; and, by 



HISTORICAL READER. 391 

denying the doctrine of a superintending Providence, he re- 
moved the only tirm basis of moral obligation, and left his 
followers to do that which was right in their own eyes, to 
follow the wayward inclinations of their own appetites and 
passions. Epicurus had the wisdom to perceive that pleasure 
could be obtained only in the path of virtue; but most of his 
followers imagined that pleasure was to be found in intemper- 
ance and luxury, and, neglecting his precepts-, and thinking 
only of his leading principle, they gave free indulgence to their 
vicious inclinations. 

The followers of Epicurus were very numerous in Rome; 
his doctrines were rapidly disseminated, and the gratification 
of the senses was regarded by those who called themselves 
his followers as the greatest good, the end of human exist- 
ence. 

The Pyrrhonic or Sceptical Sect. — Pyrrho, the 
founder of this sect, nourished B. C. 340. He taught that 
every object of human inquiry is involved in uncertainty, so 
that it is impossible ever to arrive at the knowledge of truth. 
It is related, that be acted upon his own principles, and carried 
his scepticism to so ridiculous an extreme, that his friends 
were obliged to accompany him wherever he went, that he 
might not be run over by carriages, or fall down precipices. 
Pyrrho and his followers rather endeavored to- demolish every 
other philosophical structure, than to erect one of their own. 

If the history of the Sceptic sect be compared with that of 
the Academy, the two sects will be found to be nearly allied. 

Such was the philosophy of the Greeks, of the most learned 
nation in the world. How happy should we think ourselves, 
and how thankful to God for the glorious light of the Gospel, 
which leaves us under no doubt or uncertainty with respect to 
his existence, his power, wisdom, and goodness, and his indis- 
criminate and perpetual providence over universal nature; 
which fully brings to light the doctrine of a future life, and 
which, in the death and resurrection of Jesus, furnishes a 
proof and pattern of a universal resurrection. What ample 
encouragement to a life of virtue! what animating motives and 
sanctions, does not the Gospel contain, to lead us to do justly, 
to love mercy, and to walk humbly before God ! 

" Some persons," says Bishop Butler, " upon pretence of 
the sufficiency of the light of nature, avowedly reject all Reve- 
lation, as, in- its very notion, incredible, and what must be 
fictitious. And indeed it is certain, triere would have been 
none, had the light of nature been sufficient in such a sense,, as 



392 HISTORICAL READER. 

to render a Revelation not wanting, and useless. But no man, 
in seriousness and simplicity of mind, could possibly have 
thought it so, who had considered the state of Religion in the 
heathen world, before Revelation, and its present state in those 
places which have borrowed no light from it; particularly the 
doubtfulness of some of the greatest men, concerning things of 
the utmost importance, as well as the natural inattention and 
ignorance of mankind in general. It is impossible to say, 
who would have been able to have reasoned out that whole 
system which we call natural religion, in its genuine simpli- 
city, clear of superstition; but there is certainly no ground to 
affirm, that the generality could. If they could, there is no 
sort of probability that they would. Admitting there were, 
they would highly want a standing admonition, to remind them 
of it, and to inculcate it upon them. And farther still, were 
they as much disposed to attend to religion, as the better sort 
of men are; yet even upon this supposition, there would be 
various occasions for supernatural instruction and assistance, 
and the greatest advantages might be afforded by them. So 
that to say Revelation is a thing superfluous, what there was 
no need of, and what can be of no service; is, I think, to talk 
quite wildly and at random. Nor would it be more extrava- 
gant to affirm, that mankind is so entirely at ease in the present 
state, and life so completely happy, that it is a contradiction 
to suppose our condition capable of being, ia any respect, 
better." 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE ROMANS. 

The only name which, at the early period of Roman History, 
has any pretensions to be admitted into the list of philosophers, 
is that of Numa, the second king of Rome. His excellent in- 
. stitutions of civil policy, introduced in the infancy of a State, 
which owed its existence to the force of arms, prove him to 
have been a wise legislator. "Numa," says Livy, "possessed 
a mind deeply tinctured with virtue, and well furnished with 
good principles, not so much from foreign instruction, as from 
early habits of strict discipline, which he had acquired among 
the Sabines." It is maintained by several writers, that his 
wisdom was borrowed from the great founder of one of the 
Grecian schools of philosophy, Pythagoras, and this opinion is 
expressed in our account of the Roman kings; but others think 
that Pythagoras lived more than a century after the time of 
Numa. 



HISTORICAL READER. 393 

The wise discipline which Numa introduced was ill suited 
lo the genius of the Roman people. " The greatest of all his 
works," remarks Livy, « was the establishment of a permanent 
peace, which he maintained through the whole course of his 
reign, with no less care than he employed in securing his own 
authority." But so prevalent at this time was the military 
character among the Romans, that it rendered them averse to 
all improvements in science, and led them to discourage every 
approach to philosophy, as tending to enfeeble the spirit, and 
corrupt the manners, of their youth. 

The rise of philosophy in Rome may be dated from the time 
of the embassy, which w 7 as sent from the Athenians to the 
Romans, B. C. 156, deprecating a fine which had been imposed 
upon them for laying waste a town of Sicyonia. The imme- 
diate effect of the display which these philosophical missionaries 
made of their wisdom and eloquence, was to excite in the Ro- 
man youth of all ranks an ardent thirst after knowledge, 
Lelius, Furius, and Scipio, young men of the first distinction, 
were more particularly desirous of cultivating philosophy; 
though they were opposed by Cato the Censor, who appre- 
hended, that the introduction of the literature of Greece would 
enfeeble those hardy virtues which were the foundation of 
their national glory. But the injudicious conduct of Cato 
could not suppress the spirit of inquiry. The struggle be- 
tween philosophy and voluntary ignorance was, indeed, for 
some time maintained. We read of a decree of the Senate,, 
requiring the praetor Pompon ins to take care that no philo- 
sophers took up their abode at Rome. Some years afterwards* 
the censors, as if resolved at once to exclude philosophy and 
eloquence, issued a similar edict against rhetoricians, in terms 
to this effect: " Whereas we have been informed, that certain 
men, who call themselvest Latin rheoricians, have instituted a 
new kind of learning, and opened schools, in which young 
men trifle away their time day after day, we, judging this 
innovation to be inconsistent for the purpose for which our 
ancestors established schools, contrary to ancient custom, and 
injurious to our youth, do hereby warn both those who keep 
these schools, and those who frequent them, that they are 
herein acting contary to our pleasure." And this edict was 
afterwards revived, B. C. 117. But at length philosophy, 
under the protection of those great commanders who had 
conquered Greece, prevailed; and Rome opened her gates to 
all who professed to be teachers of wisdom and eloquence. 

Scipio Africanus was one of the first among the Roman 



394 HISTORICAL READER. 

youths of patrician rank, who, in the midst of military glory, 
found leisure to listen to ihe precepts of philosophy. What- 
ever time he could spare from military operations, he devoted 
to study; his companions were Polybius, Paneetius, and other 
men of letters; he was intimately conversant with the best 
Greek writers, particularly Xenophon. Lelius and Furius 
were also great admirers of Greek learning. The circum- 
stance chiefly worthy of admiration in these great men is, 
that, although they did not join the band of philosophers, but 
sought for glory in the offices of civil or military life, they 
made use of the lessons of philosophy in acquiring the most 
exalted merit. 

Animated by such examples, many other persons of emi- 
nence in Rome, attached themselves to the study of philosophy* 
particularly among those who were devoted to the profession 
of the law. Quintus Tubero, who was one of the most cele- 
brated masters of civil law, was also conversant with philo- 
sophical learning, and professed himself a follower of the Stoic 
sect. The moral doctrine of this sect was peculiarly suitable 
to his natural temper, and to the habits of temperance and 
moderation which he had learned from his father, one of those 
excellent Romans, who, in the highest office of the State, re- 
tained the simplicity of rustic manners. Confirmed in these 
habits by the precepts of Pansetius, when Tubero was called 
upon, as prsetor, to give a public entertainment in honor of his 
uncle, he provided only wooden couches covered with goat 
skins, earthen vessels, and a frugal repast. The people, who 
expected a splendid feast, were-dissatisfied, and dismissed him 
from his office. " This was," as Seneca remarks, " an in- 
structive lesson of moderation to the Romans, who, when 
they saw the sacred tables of Jupiter served with earthen ves- 
sels, would learn that men ought to be contented with such 
things as the gods themselves did not disdain to use." 

B. C. 65. Lucullus was at this time an active patron of 
philosophy. [lis constant companion was Antiochus, the 
Ascalonite, who was universally esteemed a man of genius 
and learning. In order to promote a general taste for learn- 
ing and philosophy, Lucullus made a large collection of valua- 
ble books, and erected a library, with galleries and schools 
adjoining, to which he invited learned men of all descriptions, 
and which particularly afforded a welcome retreat to those 
Greeks, who, at this time, sought in Rome an asylum from 
the tumults of war. This place became the daily restort of 



HISTORICAL READER* 395 

men of letters, where every one enjoyed the benefit of reading 
or conversation as best suited his taste. 

Yet Lucullus, though he dedicated much of his time to stu- 
dious pursuits and literary conversation, was notorious for his 
luxurious vanity and extravagance. The expenses of his 
entertainments were immoderate, and his halls were distin- 
guished by the different names of the gods. Subterraneous 
caves and passages were dug under the hills on the coast of 
Campania, and the sea water was conveyed round the house 
and pleasure grounds, which were stocked with immense 
shoals of fishes. It is said that he might have disputed the 
empire of the world with Csesar or Pompey, had not, at last, 
.his love of retirement withdrawn him from the reach of 
ambition. 

The Greek philosophy having been thus transplanted to 
Rome, the exotic plant flourished with vigor in its new soil. 
Partly through the instructions of those Greek philosophers 
who resided at Rome, and partly by means of the practice, 
which was now commonly adopted, of sending young men 
from Rome to the ancient schools of wisdom for education, 
science and learning made a rapid progress, and almost every 
sect of philosophy found followers and patrons among the 
higher orders of the Roman citizens. If, however, we apply 
the term philosopher to those who speculated in Rome, it must 
be in a sense somewhat different from that, in which it is used 
with respect to the Greeks. Among them a philosopher was 
one, who professionally employed his time in studying and 
teaching philosophy; and several of these, at this period, be- 
came resident in this capacity, at Rome. But, among the 
Romans themselves, there were scarcely any who were philo- 
sophers by profession. They who are spoken of under this 
denomination were, for the most part, men of high rank, in- 
vested with civil or military offices, and occupied in civil 
affairs. They studied philosophy, as they cultivated other 
liberal arts, rather as a means of acquiring ability, and ob- 
taining distinction, in their civil capacities, or as an elegant 
amusement in the intervals of leisure, than as in itself an ulti- 
mate object of attention. 

This circumstance will serve to account for a fact, which, 
at first view, may seem surprising; that, notwithstanding the 
high spirit of the Roman people, they chose rather to pay 
homage to a conquered nation, by adopting the dogmas of 
their sects, than to attempt, from their own stores, to form for 
themselves a new system of philosophy. They did not want 



396 HISTORICAL READER. 

ability for undertakings of this nature, but they wanted leisure. 
They wished to enjoy the reputation, and the benefit of wisdom; 
and therefore studied philosophy under such masters as accident 
cast in their way, or their particular profession or turn of mind 
led them to prefer. Thus, the Stoic philosophy was, on account 
of the utility of its moral doctrines, peculiarly adapted to the 
character and office of lawyers and magistrates; the Pythagorie 
and Platonic suited the state of the gloomy and contemplative: 
and the Epicurean was welcome to those selfish spirits, wh 
were disposed to prefer ignoble sloth to public virtue. Every 
one found, in the doctrines of some one of the Grecian sects, 
tenets which suited his own disposition and situation ; and 
therefore no one thought it necessary to attempt farther disco-, 
veries or improvements. Perhaps, too, it may be added, that 
the Romans looked up to the schools of Greece with a degree 
of respect, which would not suffer them to undertake any 
thing new, in a walk in which so many eminent men had ex- 
erted their talents. Despairing of doing more than had already 
been done by the illustrious founders of the several sects of 
philosophy, they thought it sufficient to make choice of some 
one of these as their guide. Hence Greece, which had sub- 
mitted to the arms, in her turn subdued the understandings of 
the Romans; and, contrary to that which in these cases com- 
monly happens, the conquerors adopted the opinions and man- 
ners of the conquered. 

The ancient Italic or Pythagorean school, does not appear 
to have extended beyond that part of Italy, formerly called 
Magna Graecia. Pythagoras seems not to have had any fol- 
lowers in Rome before the seventh century from the building 
of the city, unless the poet Ennius be reckoned such. Publius 
Nigidius, a friend of Cicero, was a professed advocate of the 
Pythagorean doctrines. He was a considerable proficient in 
mathematical and astronomical learning, and after the example 
of his master, applied his knowledge of nature to the purposes 
of imposture. After his time, the doctrines of Pythagoras 
were much neglected, and few persons are now able to 
decipher with accuracy, the obscure dogmas of this myste- 
rious sect. 

The philosophy of the Old Academy, as it was revived 
and corrected by Antiochus, found many advocates at Rome. 
Among these, besides Lucullus, was the illustrious defender of 
Roman liberty, Marcus Brutus. Plutarch says of him, "that 
there was no Greek philosopher, on whom he did not attend, 
nor any sect with whose tenets he was not conversant; but that 



HISTORICAL READER. 397 

he, for the most part, embraced the doctrine of Plato, and 
followed the Old rather than the New or Middle Academy; 
and, on this account, was a great admirer of Antiochus, the 
Ascalonite, and admitted his brother Ariosto into his confi- 
dence." Cicero relates ihe same, and adds, "that Brutus, ex- 
celling in every kind of merit, so successfully transplanted the 
Greek philosophy into the Latin tongue, as to render it almost 
unnecessary to have recourse to the original, in order to gain 
a competent knowledge on the subject." Notwithstanding his 
civil and military engagements, he wrote treatises on Virtue, 
on Patience, and on the Offices of Life, which, though in point 
of style concise even to abruptness, contained an excellent 
summary of ethics, framed partly from the doctrines of Plato, 
and partly from those of the Stoical school; for Brutus, after 
his master Antiochus, was disposed to favor the union of these 
two sects. 

Jt reflects immortal honor upon the memory of Brutus, that 
he was a philosopher in actions as well as in words. His 
gentle manners, his noble mind, his entire self-command, and 
his inflexible integrity, rendered him beloved by his friends, 
and admired by the multitude, and would not sutler even his 
enemies to hate or despise him. If it be thought that he tar- 
nished the lustre of his merit by lifting up his hand against 
Cassar, it should be remembered, that in the soul of a Roman, 
whilst Roman virtue remained, every private passion was lost 
in the love of his country. The ardor of his patriotic spirit 
would not suffer him to survive that public liberty which he 
could no longer preserve; and, after the example of his uncle 
Cato, he fell by his own hand : an action, which, though 
nothing can justify, such a situation may be allowed in some 
measure to excuse. 

Another ornament to the Old Academy was M. Terentius 
Varro, born at Rome 116 B. C. Cicero speaks of his good 
sense, his indifference to pleasure, and his patient perseverance 
in business. To these virtues he added uncommon abilities, 
and large stores of knowledge. His prose writings were ex- 
ceedingly numerous, and treated of various topics in antiquities, 
chronology, geography, natural and civil history, philosophy, 
and criticism. He was also a poet of some distinction, and 
wrote in almost every kind of verse. 

To Varro we may add Piso. 

The Middle Academy, no less than the Old, had its patrons 
at Rome. Cicero addicted himself to this sect, which was 
founded on a conviction of the imbecility of human reason. 

34 



398 HISTORICAL READER. 

The service which he rendered to philosophy will in some 
measure appear from an enumeration of his philosophical 
writings. On the subject of the philosophy of nature, his 
principal works are, the fragment of his translation of Plato's 
Timseus, on the universe; his treatise on the Nature of the 
Gods; his books on Divination and Fate, and the Dream of 
Scipio. On mora! philosophy, he treats in several distinct works. 
In his treatise De Finibus, on Moral Ends, which is a history 
of the doctrine of Grecian philosophers concerning the ultimate 
ends of life, he states the different opinions of the several sects 
upon this subject, enumerates the leading arguments by which 
they were supported, and points out the difficulties which 
press upon each opinion. In his Queestiones Tusculana?, 
Tusculan Questions, he treats of the contempt of death, pa- 
tience under bodily pain, the remedies of grief, and the suffi- 
ciency of virtue to a happy life. In the dialogues entitled Cato 
and Leelius, he discourses concerning the consolations of old 
age, and the duties and pleasures of friendship. His explana- 
tions of the Six Stoical Paradoxes seem rather to have been 
written as a rhetorical exercise, than as a serious disquisition 
in philosophy. His treatise De Officis, on Moral Duties, con- 
tains an excellent summary of practical ethics. The grounds 
of jurisprudence are explained in his book De Legibus, on 
Laws. His Hortensius, or Exhortation to the study of philo- 
sophy, his Oeconomics and Republic are lost. 

Cicero rather relates the opinions of others, than advances 
any new doctrine from his own conceptions. He belonged to 
the class of Academics. Through all his philosophical works, 
he paints in lively colors, and with all the graces of fine wri- 
ting, the opinions of philosophers; and relates in the diffuse 
manner of an orator, the arguments on each side of the ques- 
tion in dispute; but we seldom find him diligently examining 
the exact weight of evidence in the scale of reason, carefully 
deducing accurate conclusions from certain principles, or 
exhibiting a series of argument in a close arid systematic 
arrangement. On the contrary, we frequently hear him de- 
claiming eloquently instead of reasoning conclusively, and 
meet with unequivocal proofs that he was better qualified to 
dispute on either side with the Academics, than to decide upon 
the question with the Dogmatists. In fine, Cicero appears 
rather to have been a warm admirer, and an elegant memori- 
alist of philosophy, than himself to have merited a place in 
the first order of philosophers. 

The Stoic, as well as the Academic school, was patronized 



HISTORICAL READER. 399 

by many eminent men in the Roman Republic. Q. L. Balbus 
was an eminent master of the Stoic philosophy. Several of 
the most zealous and able supporters of the tottering Republic, 
derived no small part of their strength from the principles of 
Stoicism. But the man who, above all the rest, claims our 
notice, as a Stoic in character as well as in opinion, is Cato 
of Utica. His language, both in private and public, was a 
true image of his mind; plain, concise, and somewhat harsh; 
but enlivened with strokes of genius, which could not be heard 
without pleasure. He nobly withstood the assaults which were 
made upon liberty, with a firm and resolute adherence to the 
principles of public virtue, that no apprehension of danger to 
himself or his family could ever induce him to listen to any 
proposal which implied a treacherous desertion of his country. 
Whilst some were supporting the interest of Caesar, and others 
that of Pompey, Cato, himself a host, withstood them both, and 
convinced them that there was an interest still existing, that of 
the State. But, at length, when he saw that the necessity of 
the times required it, in order that, of two impending evils, the 
.least might be chosen, he took part with Pompey. 

"Cuncta terrarum subacta 
Prseter atrocem animum Catonis." 
"I see the world subdued, 
All but the mighty soul of Cato." 

The Peripatetic philosophy found its way into Rome, in the 
time of Sylla, with the writings of Aristotle and Theophrastus. 
That tyrant, when the city of Athens was taken by him, be- 
came possessed of the library of Apellicon, and the rich prize 
was brought to Rome, and soon engaged the attention of those 
who knew the value of Greek learning. The writings of 
Aristotle and Theophrastus were transcribed and dispersed 
among the Romans. 

The Epicurean Philosophy, in consequence of the opposition 
it had met with in Greece from the Stoics, and the irregulari- 
ties which had been practised by some of its followers, entered 
Rome under a heavy load of obloquy, and this was increased 
by the vehemence with which Cicero inveighed against this 
sect. Nevertheless, there were many persons of high distinc- 
tion in Rome, to whom the character of Epicurus appeared 
less censurable, and who were of opinion that true philosophy 
was to be found in his garden. Among these were Torquatus 
Velleius, Trebatius, Piso, Albertius, Pansa, and Atticus, the 
friend of Cicero. 



400 HISTORICAL READER. 

The true doctrine of Epicurus was not fully stated by any 
Roman writer, till Lucretius, with much accuracy of concep- 
tion and clearness of method, as well as with great strength 
and elegance of diction, unfolded the Epicurean system in his 
poem " De Rerum Natura," on the Nature of Things. In this 
poem, the existence of the Supreme Being and the immortality 
of the soul are denied. This poem is said to have been writ- 
ten while the poet labored under a violent delirium, occasioned 
by a philter which the jealousy of his wife had administered. 
Lucretius destroyed himself in the forty-fourth year of his age, 
94 B.C. 

The Pyrrhonic or Sceptic Sect was not followed among the 
Romans; not because the method of philosophising adopted by 
this sect had no admirers, but because it was superseded by the 
Academic philosophy, which pursued the same track, but with 
greater caution and sobriety. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



ROMAN LITERATURE. 



Before the intercourse with Greece, which took place after 
the Punic wars, the Romans paid little attention to literature. 
The remaining fragments of the annals of the Pontiffs, and 
the laws of the Twelve Tables, are sufficient to prove the rude 
and imperfect state of the Latin language during the early 
times of the Republic. 

1. Livius Andronicus, 238 B. C, was the first that intro- 
duced a dramatic performance on the Roman stage. Though 
the character of a player so valued and applauded in Greece, 
was reckoned vile and despicable among the Romans, Andro- 
nicus acted a part in his dramatical compositions. He was a 
Greek, and the freed-man of Livius Salinator, whose children 
he educated. His poetry was become obselete in the age of 
Cicero. 

2. C. JNLevius was born in Campania, and served in the 
first Punic war. He was driven from Rome on account of his 
satirical disposition, and he died at Utica 233 B. C. He wrote 
a poem on the first Punic war, and some tragedies, comedies, 
and satires. A few fragments are preserved. 

3. Quintus Fabius Pictor, flourished during the second 
Punic war. He was the first Roman that recorded in prose 
the antiquities and events of the Romans. He wrote Annals 
both in the Greek and Latin language, and some books de 
Jure Pontifico. Few fragments remain. 

4. Quintus Ennius, born in Calabria, obtained the name 
and privileges of a Roman citizen by his genius and learning. 
His style is rough and unpolished. Quintillian commends him 
for the energy of his expressions, and the warmth of his poetry, 
and Virgil has shown his merit by introducing many whole 
lines from his poetry, which he calls pearls gathered from the 
dunghill. Ennius wrote in heroic verse eighteen books of the 
anuals of the Roman Republic, and displayed much knowledge 
of the world in some dramatical and theatrical compositions. 

34* 



402 HISTORICAL HEADER* 

He died of the gout, contracted by frequent intoxication, about 
169 B. C, in the seventieth year of his age. Ennius was 
intimate with the great men of the age. He accompanied 
Cato to Sardinia ; and Scipio, on his death bed, ordered his 
body to be buried by the side of his poetical friend. He 
bestowed on himself the title of the Homer of the Latium. 
Only a few fragments of his works remain. 

5. Marcus Portius Cato, wrote Origines, De Re Mili- 
tari, Orations, and other works which are lost. There remains 
his work on Agriculture. In Cicero's time there were fifty of 
his orations in existence. 

6. Marcus Accius Plautus, was born in Umbria B- C. 
227. He wrote one hundred and thirty comedies, of which 
twenty remain. His plays were universally esteemed at Rome, 
and for five hundred years, with all the disadvantages of obso- 
lete language and diction, his plays were acted. 

7. Statius CjscTLitr^, born in a state of servitude, was a 
comic poet, and commended by Cicero and Quintilian. Above 
thirty of his comedies are mentioned by ancient historians. A 
few fragments remain. He was the friend of Scipio, Terence, 
and Ennius. He died 169 B. C. 

8. Publius Tkrentius Af^r, a native of Carthage, born 
a slave, B. C. 192. His master educated him with great care, 
and on account of the brilliancy of his genius gave him his 
liberty. Scipio iEmilianus and Lselius are said to have assist- 
ed him in the composition of his plays. Only *six of his come- 
dies remain. He is admired for the purity of his language, the 
artless elegance, and simplicity of his diction, and for a con- 
tinual delicacy of sentiment. It is said that he translated 
one hundred and eighty of the comedies of the Greek poet 
Menander. 

9. Marcus Pacuvius, born at Brundusium B. C. 152, 
wrote satires and tragedies, but few fragments of his works 
are extant. 

10. Ennius Lucilius, a Roman knight, celebrated for the 
uprightness and innocence of his character. He is considered 
as the first great satirical writer. Of the thirty satires which 
he wrote, only a few verses remain. He died B. C. 103. 

11. T. Lucretius Carits, born B. C. 95. composed, in 
heroic metre, six books De Rerum Natura, in which the opin- 
ions of Epicurus are explained and elucidated. An account 
has already been given of them. 

12. Marcus Tkrkntius V.yrro, celebrated for his great 
learningj wrote five hundred different books, which are all lost 



HISTORICAL READER. 403 

except a treatise De Re Rustica, and another De Lingua Latina, 
dedicated to Cicero. He died B. C. 28, in the eighty-eighth 
year of his age. 

13. MiRus Tullius Cicero, mentioned before. 

14. Caius Julius Cjesak, eminent as a grammarian, poet, 
orator, historian, and lawyer. The greater part of his writings 
are lost. In his style there is a peculiar beauty, and it strike 
ingly illustrates the peculiarities and idiomatic turn of the Latin 
tongue. 

15. Cornelius Nepos, wrote The Lives of Eminent Com- 
manders. His style is pure and elegant, and his narrations 
clear and perspicuous. He was the intimate friend of Cicero 
and Atticus. 

16. Caius Sallustius Csuspus, born B. C. 85, in the 
district of the Sabines, wrote the history of the war with 
Jugurtha, and erf the conspiracy of Catiline. His style is 
distinguished lor precision and elegance. He died B. C. 35, 
at the age of fifty -one. 

17. Thus L^us, born at Padua, and died A. D. 17, at 
the age of seventy-six. He wrote a history of Rome in one 
hundred and forty books, of which onlv thirty-five are extant* 
He holds a high rank among historians; his stylo is clear and 
intelligible, labored without affectation, diffusive without tedi- 
ousnoss, and argumentative without pedantry. His candor 
has been called in question. He is not always original, for 
he has copied many passages word for word from Poly bins, 
without any acknowledgment. 

18. iMvHeus Vitkuvius Pollio, a celebrated architect, 
who wrote a treatise on his profession, which is the only book 
on architecture now extant, written by the ancients. He 
flourished B. C. 44. 

19. Cvius Valerius Catullus, a poet of Verona, whose 
compositions, elegant and simple, are the offspring of a luxu- 
riant imagination. He imitated with success the Greek writers, 
and introduced their rummers among the Latins. His pages 
are not un frequently polluted with licentious expressions. He 
was acquainted with the most distinguished people of his age, 
and directed his satire against Csesar, who, in return, hospi- 
tably en'ertamed him at his table. 

20. Als v^ Tihullus, a Roman knight. Four books of 
his elegies ar^ 1 the only remaining pieces vof his composition. 
Thev are uncommonly elegant and beautiful, and possessed 
with so much grace and purity of sentiment, that the writer is 
deservedly ranked as the prince of elegiac poe^s. Ovid wrote 



404 HISTORICAL READER, 

a beautiful elegy on his death. As he had espoused the 
cause of Brutus, he lost his possessions when the soldiers 
of the triumvirate were rewarded with lands of the opposite 
party. To his honor it is recorded, that he disdained to 
imitate the base adulation of his great contemporaries, Virgil 
and Horace, in paying court to Augustus. 

21. Sextus Aurelius Propertius, died about 19 B. C. 
His works consist of four books of elegies, written with much 
spirit, vivacity, and energy, but his lascivious expressions 
expose him to just censure. 

22. Puslius Virgilius M aro, was born near Mantua 70 
B. C. His principal writings are his Bucolics, Georgics, and 
iEneid. The four Georgics are considered the most exquisite 
specimen of Latin poetry, and the most perfect and finished 
of all Latin compositions. So great is the merit oftheyEneid 
that it is undecided, whether Homer or Virgil is more entitled 
to admiration. In his Bucolics he showed his countrymen that 
he could write with graceful simplicity, with elegance, and 
purity of language. His farm, which had been taken from 
him, was restored by Augustus, and he repaid his patron by 
the most fulsome flattery. We admire the poet, but we de- 
spise the man. 

23. Quintus Horatius Flaccus was born 65 B. C. His 
father was a f reed-man, and, though poor, liberally educated 
his son. Horace was in the army of Brutus at Philippi, but 
cast away his shield. He became the friend of Virgil and 
Varius, was patronized by Augustus and Mecsenas, and gave 
himself up to poetry, indolence, and pleasure. In all his wri- 
tings, he breathes the Epicurean spirit. The poetry of Horace, 
so much commented for its elegance and sweetness, is deserv- 
edly censured for the licentious expressions and indelicate 
thoughts which he frequently introduces. He lived on terms 
of great familiarity with his illustrious patrons; and both he 
and Virgil left all their possessions to Augustus. 

24. Publius Ovidius Naso, born at Sulmo 43 B. C. He 
enjoyed the friendship of Virgil, Horace, Propertius, and 
Tibullus; and Augustus patronized him with unbounded 
liberality, but he was afterwards banished. Like his great 
friends Virgil and Horace, he disgraced his character by gross 
adulation of the emperor. His Metamorphoses, in fifteen books, 
Fasti, Tristia, Elegies, Heroides, his three books de Amorum, 
and the same number de Arte Amandi, and the other de Reme- 
dio Amoris, are h'^j chief works. His style is elegant, pure, 
flowing, and delicate; but his sentiments often licentious. 



APPENDIX 



CHRONOLOGY 

Treats of time, the method of measuring its parts, and 
adapting these, when distinguished by proper marks and 
characters, to past transactions for the illustration of history. 
This science, therefore, consists of two parts. The first treats 
of the proper measurement of time, and the adjustment of its 
several divisions ; the second, of fixing the dates of the various 
events recorded in history, and arranging them according 
to the several divisions of time, in the order in which they 
happened. 

The utility and importance of the knowledge of chronology, 
as it comprehends the distribution of time into its subordinate 
parts, and the arrangement of historical events, by means of 
these several divisions, in the order according to which they 
occurred, so that their respective dates may be accurately 
fixed, will be universally acknowledged. We can form but 
very confused notions of the intervals of time, of the rise and 
fall of empires, and of the successive establishment of states, 
without some general comprehension of the whole current of 
time, such as may enable us to trace out distinctly the depend- 
ence of events, and distribute them into such periods and 
divisions, as shall lay the whole chain of past tiansaction* in 
a just and orderly manner before us. This is what the science 
of chronology undertakes to teach, or, at least, to afford us 
very important aid in the attainment of. 



MEMORIA TECHNICA. 



As there is a great difficulty in retaining numbers, letters 
have been substituted for the figures to assist the memory. 
By transmuting figures into letters, which easily cohere in 
every form of combination, we fix and retain numbers in 



406 HISTORICAL READER. 

the mind with the same ease and certainty, with which we 
remember words. 

a e i o u au oi ei ou y g th 
123456 78 90 100 1000 
bdtfls pknz 
With these letters representing figures, syllables are formed, 
which are annexed to the first part of the name, thus, put 
represents the three figures 753; and Rom., an abbreviation 
of Romulus, with put annexed makes Rom. put, i. e., Romulus 
in the year 753. 

10 325 381 1921 1491 1012 536 

az tel teib aneb afna bybe uts 

TABLE I. 

General Epochs and Eras* 

Ci-othf, Dehetok, Ab-aneb, Ex-afna, Troy-abeit, Tem-bybe. 

4004 2348 1921 1491 1183 1012 

Oly m-pois, Rom-put, iErnabonas-jpop, Cyr-uts, Ph'iUido. 

776 , 753 747 536 324 

Contrac-tadf, x Diecles-e&o, Mahom-audd, Yez-sid. 

312 284 622 632 

The Creation of the World, fhe Deluge, Abraham, Exodus, 
Troy, Temple of Solomon, First Olympiad, Romulus, iErna* 
bonazzar, Cyrus, Philip, iEra of Contracts x Dioclesian-iEra, 
Mahomet, Yesdegird, or the Persian iEra. 

TABLE II. 

Grecian History. 
Theb-a^eZ, Mess-pot, Mes-sJcu, Marath-orcz, Salam-oJh/, 
Eurymed-opz, Pe\o-Ji,b, Leuctra-tpi, Mant-ist, Phoc-ilp, 
Gxan\-tif, x Iss tit, A\b-tib, Alextis, Aritet, Mg-tas. 
The Theban War, First Messenian War, Second Messenian 
War, Battle of Marathon, Battle of Salamis, Battle of Euryme- 
don, Pelopenesian War, Battle of Leuctra, Battle of Mantinsea, 
Phocsean War, Battle of the Granicus, Battle of Issus, Battle 
of Arbela, Alexander the Great, Philip Aridseus, Alexander 
iEgus. 

TABLE III. 

Roman History. 
Stat-reg-cZoZ, Num-po/*, Hostil-sp^, Anc-sip, Prisc-saf, 
Ser-t/ps, Super-Zi<i. 

Regal State, Romulus, Numa, Hostilius, Ancus Priscus, 



HISTORICAL READER. 407 

Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius, Tarquinius Superbus. 

Sat-consular-oso. 

Consu-Zzoi, Dic-o?ioi, Trib-foud, Decemv-oly, MWt-foz, 
Incend-ikk, Samn-i/e, Py r-doin y Bel-pun-esi-das-bok, 
Gra.cc-ade, Jugu-bzou, Clm-bat, liaUein, Mithridat-£c^. 
Syl-dict-etz, Catal-awcZ, Tr-zm, Phars-op, Bat- phiI-06- Ac 4a. 
Consular State, Consuls first made, First Dictator, Creation 
of Tribunes, of Decemviri, of Military Tribunes, Burning of 
the city by. the Gauls, War with the Samnites, War with 
Pyrrhus, Three Punic Wars, the Gracchi, Jugurthine War, 
War with the Cimbri, Italian War, War with Mithridates, 
Dictatorship of Sylla, Catiline's Conspiracy, First Triumvirate, 
Battle of Pharsalia, Battle of Philippi, Battle of Actium. 

TABLE IV. 

The Twelve Ccesars* 
Juli-os, August-eZ, x Tiber-bu, Caligul-i&, Cla-oeZ, 
Ner-wZ, Galb-olho-sow, Vit-vesp-ozs, Tit-pou, Domit-ka. 
Julius Ceesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, 
Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian. 

TABLE V. 

Regal Table of England. 

In this table, after Alfred 1000 years must be added to each, 
which it is unnecessary to express. 

Casibel-i/d, Boad-cu/p, Vortig-/bs, Heng-ful et Arth-lqf. 

Egbe-Zce&, Alfre-fcpe, Can-baa, Confes~fe. 

Wil-con-sau, Ru C-koi. Henpr-a^. 

Step-biletUensec-buf,R\c-bein,5-ann,Rvnth-dasetEd-doid. 

Edse-fa/p, Edter-tes, Rise-foip, Hefo-toun, Heft-fad que 

Hensi^ecZ, Ed-q\mr-fauz, Efi-R-o&£, Hensep-/HZ, Heuoc-lyn, 

Edsex-Zos, Mary-Zw£, FJs-luk, Jam-syd, Caroprim-seZ, 

Carsec- sok, Jam-so/*, WiW-M-seik, An-pyb, 

Geo-bo-doi-pauz-kez, WilI-quar-&/2, Vic-Zrip. 

Casibelaunus, Boadicea, Vortigern, Hengist, Arthur, Egbert, 
Alfred, Canute, Edward the Confessor, William the Conqueror, 
William Rufus, Henry 1st, Stephen, Henry 2d, Richard 1st, 
John, Henry 3d, Edward 1st, Edward 2d, Edward 3d, Richard 
2d, Henry 4th, Henry 5th, Henry 6th, Edward 4th, Edward 
5th, Richard 3d, Henry 7th, Henry 8th, Edward 6th, Mary, 
Elizabeth, James 1st, Charles 1st, Charles 2d, James 2d, 
William and Mary, Anne, George 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, William 
4th, Victoria. 



408 HISTORICAL HEADER. 

TABLE VI. 

Events after the Birth of Christ. 

Jud-pa, Zen-doit, Con-tan, Nis-teZ, Constan-teZr, 
Goth-Stan-/ei&, A\ixrfay, Van-Span^aa 7 , Rom-Brit-jfes, 
Theod-coft, Odoa fois. 'Pheodoxfoud, Justin-co-Ze/?, 
Lat-Ian-ZeiAr, Cos roes-sad, Ser-Sav-sip, Sar-Sil- sank, 
Pep-sovy, ACSzr-pyn, iSpan-Sar-/?cr/, Char-Rom-Aa?/, 
Sar-div-ms, Oth-U-naif, Anth-Eu-??ok6, Cast-Ar-fa, 
Tur-Rcm-Z?/, Sar-Ju-sz/, Crus-/mz/, Turk-Ebaun, 
S-a\-R'\C'houd, Con- Lai -a 7 ///, Con-Grec da^fr, Mar-com-tya*, 
Prinfoy, Con-Turfut. 

Jud-pau, Jerusalem destroyed by Titus; Zen-doit, Zenobia 
defeated by Aurelian; dm-tin, Constantine, first Christian 
Emperor; Nis-teZ, Council of x\ice; Constan-ZeA;, Seat of the 
Empire removed to Constantinople; Goth-Stan-teiA*, Goths 
advance to Constantinople; Alar fay, Rome burnt by Alaric 
the Goth; Van-Span^/bd, ihe Vandals settle in Spain; Rom- 
Britfes, the Romans withdraw from Britain; Theod-co-j#£, 
Theodosian code published ; Odocxfois, Western Empire 
destroyed by Odoacer, king of the Ueruli; Theodor^/b^a 7 , 
Theodoric king of the Ostrogoths conquers Italy from the 
Heruli; Justin-co-Zfw, Justinian publishes his code of laws; 
Lat-lan-ZdA;, Latin ceases to be the language of Italy ; 
Chos roes-sad, Conquests of Cosroes, king ol Persia, in Syria, 
Egypt, Asia Minor, &c; Jer-Sar-s/p, Jerusalem taken by the 
Saracens; Sar-Ssl-sawfc, the Saracens ravage Sicily; Pep-so^, 
Pepin king of France ; Ai'-Svu-pyn, Africa conquered by the 
Saracens; Span-Sar-/ at, Spain conquered by the Saracens ; 
Char-Ronv/ra^, Charlemagne emperor of Rome; Sar-div-fiis, 
Saracen empire divided by usurpation into seven kingdoms ; 
Oih'lt-nauf, Italy conquered by Otho ; Arith-Eu-ncwa, Arith- 
metical Figures brought into Europe by the Saracens; Cast-- 
Ar-tu, kingdoms of Castile and Arragon begin; Tur-Rom-7y, 
The Turks invade the Roman Empire; Sar-Ju-sw, Jerusalem 
conquered by the Turks from the Saracens ; Crus-nau, the first 
Crusade; Turk-E baun, Conquest of Egypt by the Turks; 
Sar-Ric-bovd, Saladin defeated by Richard 1st of England: 
Con-hnUdyt, Constantinople taken by the Latins; Con-Grec- 
daub, Constantinople recovered by the Greeks; Mar-com-tydf, 
Mariner's compass invented or improved ; Prinfoy, printing 
discovered ; Coa-Tur^W*, Constantinople taken by ihe Turks. 

THE END. 






